Resident Evil: Convergence
by RisingPhoenix33
Summary: When Ada returns to the US after completing her assignment in Spain, things don't go as planned...Help comes from the unlikeliest of places...But in the end, someone has to be on the losing side...Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

Well, as always, Capcom owns everything that is Resident Evil, not me (unfortunately), except for the characters that I have created for the use of this fan fiction.

The story starts off at the end of Resident Evil 4, so there are some spoilers in the first chapter. I have a lot of different ideas for this story, so this story is definitely going to take a lot of time to complete (and a lot of writing). I'm hoping to have a lot of character development, but also action (because we all love action so much; that's why we're RE fans). Don't worry if this fan fiction doesn't feel like a RE story; it will later on! So please, bear with me (it's my first fan fiction, too). Of course, advice and input is greatly appreciated!

Resident Evil: Convergence

Chapter 1

"Sorry, Leon. Hand it over," Ada commanded as she lowered her Blacktail 9mm towards the skull of the kneeling Leon. Stunned on one hand, expecting it on the other, Leon looked down at the Plaga sample that he held in his hand.

"Ada; you do know what this is?" he replied, slowly standing to his feet.

_What a silly question_, thought Ada. _Of course I know what it is; my ticket out of this hell_. She let out a single "hmm" while starting to show a smile across her lips. Her hazel eyes looked into the government agent's, then past them. Suddenly, the rotating _swish-swish­_ sound of a helicopter's blades rang through the beams of the oil rig. Leon turned around, hoping to catch a glimpse of where the sound was coming from. Using this opportunity, Ada ran the opposite direction; towards the ocean and the edge of the platform.

Leon turned around just a second before Ada jumped from the platform, spreading her arms and body like an elegant bird taking flight. He ran over to where she just jumped and looked over the edge. The sound of the helicopter intensified as it elevated to reveal its passenger.

"Don't worry; I'll take good care of it," teased Ada Wong, waving the Plaga sample at Leon.

"Ada!" called out Leon. He knew that his main mission was to rescue Ashley Graham, the President's daughter, but to have and lose the sample in a matter of seconds…Then, she pushed a button on a hand-held device: the classic red "push me to destroy" button. _She really pushed it_.

"Here, catch." As Ada spoke these words, she tossed to him a key to the jet-ski that the two had used to reach the island. "Better get a move on; see you around." And with a final wave, the helicopter began its flight away from the high rise platform, leaving Leon to get Ashley out alive.

_Hmm, that's not my problem now, is it?_ Ada thought as she placed the sample into the soft foam of the titanium case. Five other samples lined the top of the case, while the master Plaga sample rested in the center of the bottom, clearly the main purpose of the mission. She closed the lid slowly, looking back on the events of the past few days. The locks at each corner of the case began to lock automatically, spinning counter-clockwise. _Good_, Ada thought as the yellowish-orange lights turned on. _The case is secure_. She allowed her eyes to close for a moment, relishing the peaceful moment. As she opened them, she was able to see a beautiful landscape, with the bright sun light pushing past the clouds. _Almost like the end of a movie; happily ever Wesker…Huh?_

"Do you have the sample?" Ada glanced upwards, suddenly seeing an enlarged image of Albert Wesker. The plasma monitor had flipped down from the roof of the cockpit while she was in her daze.

"Of course," she replied. She unconsciously shifted in her seat, trying to look more alert and awake than she really was.

"And Leon?"

Ada thought for a quick moment on how to answer. She looked into Wesker's eyes through his dark sunglasses and responded. "He didn't have a chance to get off that island."

"Good. Follow your orders when you get back."

The connection between Albert and Ada went dead as the screen twisted back up. _That's what you think, Wesker_. _I don't play for you or by your rules_. Ada slowly closed her eyes, letting herself slip into a much-needed rest.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"He didn't have a chance to get off that island." That was her response to his question about the survival of one Leon S. Kennedy. And he knew that she was lying.

He had watched the entire event from the Umbrella satellites that floated in the black space surrounding Earth; the same satellites that he had used to survey the pueblo in Spain during Ada's infiltration. He had watched as her life had been saved by the one she was supposed to eliminate. He had watched as she threw a rocket launcher to the one she was supposed to eliminate. And he had watched as she threw a key, to which he found out was to a power boat that proved to be an escape, to the one she was supposed to eliminate. _To the one she was SUPPOSED to ELIMINATE_, Wesker repeated.

Everything began to add up in his mind. She had reported that Jack Krauser was dead, only to receive a report from him less than an hour later. She continually "bumped" into the former R.P.D. police officer, and yet he continued to parade around Spain. Finally, add those two events to what had occurred on top of the oil rig platform on the island. _The proverbial hat trick, _mused Wesker. All of theevents were just coincidence alone, but when put together, they formed a cohesive conclusion: betrayal. _Perhaps I should have sent Krauser to watch Ada_.

His gloved finger danced around the hand keypad that was built into his chair, making the large screen in front of him perform a complex series of operations. Among the many files that began to appear were profiles on Ada Wong, Leon Kennedy, Jack Krauser, and the cult "Los Illuminados." A video file began to play itself over the other files: the recording of Osmund Saddler's death. _Now that is one hideous creature_, he thought as he watched Saddler show his true form. Wesker let out a small laugh, which was the first one in days. As the file repeatedly played over and over, however, his anger began to boil. He was reminded of past failures, including the one that eventually ended in the death of his humanity.

_I will not be made a fool of. _

A few more taps and clicks resulted in another profile appearing. His finger rested on the scroll button, moving the information up the screen. After finding the information that he was looking for, he reached for his phone. He punched in the numbers and listened intently as the two lines were connected.

"How may I direct your call?" answered the voice on the other end.

"I'm looking for a man by the name of John Davis."

"You've got the wrong number."

"Have I? Perhaps I should be asking for a different name. Does the name "HUNK" sound familiar?" asked Wesker. After a few moments, a new voice came over the line: a deep, husky sounding voice.

"State your business."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Wesker immediately recognized the voice of the man on the other end of the phone line. Photos of the man rotated slowly on his screen; photos of the man that had been worthy competition in the past. Now, he was for sale. "John Davis, also known as HUNK and Mr. Death. Birth date: unknown. Birth place: unknown. Current affiliation: none," read the profile.

"I'm assuming you know who I am," stated Wesker. He knew that the question was more rhetorical than anything else.

"I've gotta be honest, Wesker. I have no idea why the hell you're calling me."

"Because you're the best," started Wesker.

"Uh-huh," quipped the man on the other line.

"And I need the best."

"Why would I be interested? If I remember right, it was because of you that I had to go and march my ass straight into Hell with a tooth-pick. And now you want me to do you a favor!"

_Eight years ago…The viral outbreak in Raccoon City. A unit of the Umbrella Special Forces was sent in to recover the G-Virus sample from William Birkin. Birkin was supposed to get the sample to me, however Umbrella decided to intercede. The good doctor injected the G-Virus into himself before the sample could be taken from him by Umbrella or recovered by my agent._

"You retrieved the sample, didn't you?"

John Davis laughed over the other end loudly; loud enough that Wesker winced a little. After a few moments, he settled down.

"Yeah, I suppose I did. No thanks to you or Birkin." After a short pause, Davis questioned Wesker again. "So, is there a reason for this little catching-up session, or did you just have some time to kill?"

_He's quick to the point, as usual._ "If I remember right, you earned the moniker 'Grim Reaper HUNK,' which was for the impressive survival rate of you and the men under your command," Wesker started. He could hear HUNK's restlessness on the other end. He continued anyway. "But during the retrieval of the G-Virus, only you made it. Out of four men, you were the only one that survived. Why was that, I wonder? Maybe…"

Before Wesker could finish his thought, John Davis quickly cut in. "Those were the best damn men I had ever served with. Trained 'em myself. Are you accusing me of killing…?"

"No, of course not," Wesker answered. _I knew that would hit a nerve._ "If my sources are right, and they are, Mr. Davis, two of your men, Kristoff Sandersson and Benjamin Goulet, became infected with the T-Virus and eventually…had to deal with them." After a deliberate pause, he spoke again. "Robert Sullivan, however, was not. His cause of death was a…"

Robert Sullivan's profile began to appear on Wesker's screen. "Name: Robert C. Sullivan; Date of Birth: November 15th, 1965; Status: KIA; Cause of Death: Single…" "…gunshot wound to the head, killing him instantly. Did they ever find the killer, Mr. Davis?" Wesker knew that if he kept prodding and pushing this button, a button that screamed "Push me! Push me!" he would be able to get former Umbrella Special Forces member John Davis to agree to the job.

"The bitch was lucky enough to die before I got to her," HUNK commented coldly.

Wesker smiled for the second time in a week and jokingly said, "Oh. Is that what you were told?" The only thing he could hear from John Davis was silence. This pleased him tremendously.

"What does that mean, Wesker?" After a few more silent moments, John pushed for an answer again. "Wesker…what do you know?" The hostility in his voice increased quicker than the mercury in a thermometer when placed into a pot of boiling water.

"Ada Wong, that 'bitch' to whom you are referring to, is NOT dead. In fact, I can tell you that she is alive and well."

"How is it that you know this, Wesker? Did a little birdy fly by your window and tell you this?"

"I was the one that kept her alive. She was still of use of me, and her skills were unmatched."

Was of use and were unmatched. The use of the past tense didn't escape John Davis' attention, nor was it supposed to. Suddenly, everything began to dawn on him. Even he began to smile.

"Ah…now the picture is becoming clear. What did she do, Wesker? Steal your favorite pair of sunglasses?" joked HUNK, suddenly feeling a little better.

Ignoring that last jab, Wesker began his sale pitch. "How would you like to know where she is?" Wesker heard some shuffling, and took the opportunity to adjust his position in his leather seat. The darkness of his office matched him perfectly, with a single lamp light turned on. His seat swiveled 180 degrees as he turned away from the bright glare of the plasma monitor.

"Is there anything else we should know about the situation?"

"She will have a case with her. The contents are none of your concern, really." Wesker tapped the arm of his chair as he went on. "I have a feeling that she will not be alone, Mr. Davis. How many, I do not know. I do know that whoever is with her will be dangerous."

"I'm assuming you know our current rates."

_That is what I wanted to hear...A true mercenary_.

"Of course."

Albert's response made John Davis grin on the other line, wherever he was.

"And the information?"

Wesker spun back around to face the large monitor while tapping a few keys on his keypad. "Where should I send it, Mr. Davis?"

"I'll have someone get on the line in a few moments, Al. I need to tell the boys the good news." While waiting for the new voice, he prepared an information package for John Davis, which included a full biography about Ada and who she might be working for. _Since it obviously isn't me._ As he logged into a secure email service, the female voice from before came back onto the line.

"Send the information to the following email address, sir."

It only took Albert Wesker less than twenty-four hours to find out that Ada Wong was not as loyal as he hoped she would be. It took him only a few moments to find someone that would take care of her for him; someone that would undoubtedly get the job done. And as he clicked the "send button" at the bottom of the electronic message, he realized that it took him less than a second to send out the information that he hoped would lead to the not-so pleasant death of Ada Wong. The woman working for John Davis' "organization" said one final thing before hanging up.

"The information has been received. It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Wesker."

_I will not be made a fool of._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

According to her orders from the Organization, Ada was supposed to keep her meeting with Albert Wesker for the following day and give him the false sample. By the time he would know it wasn't the true plaga sample, Ada would be long gone. The Organization would then receive the sample, and Ada would begin her work for them in a more permanent capacity. However, if the samples were to either get mixed up or the plan was to fail, she would be on her own.

When Ada joined the Organization, they had decided it best to provide her with a place to stay after the mission in Spain. Since Wesker would eventually discover that the sample he would receive in the near future was a fake, Ada's security would be at risk. If she would be able to get master plaga sample out of Spain and back to the States, she would be considered an asset to the Organization, and they wouldn't be too pleased with losing her so quickly. They had decided to give her a place in New York City, feeling that one of the largest cities in the world could provide more security and anonymity. The Organization owned quite a few of the properties on Wall Street and Battery Park, making the decision even easier. They often took care of their employees, even the ones that didn't show up on payroll.

As she made her way through the brightly lit lobby, she could feel her body starting to shut down. Her legs felt like they would cave right out from under her. The gash that she had incurred on her right thigh throbbed. When Leon cut her down after she was knocked unceremoniously unconscious by Osmund Saddler, she hadn't felt a thing. _Must have been the adrenaline_. Her head felt like a two ton piano had been dropped onto it, and her eye lids felt like two ton pianos. She carried with her a large black duffel bag which she had just bought. _Huh…walking into a lobby with a great big case reading "biohazard" might be a little to obvious, _she had figured. The weight of the strap on her shoulder was tremendous, not because of the weight, but because of her current condition. The doorman saw how terrible she looked and approached her.

"Any way I may be of assistance, ma'am?" he gently asked, trying not to startle her. She was startled anyway.

Her eyes snapped open quickly as her body became rigid, grabbing the straps of the bag. "No, no thank you. Thank you very much for your thoughtfulness," she responded. She took a quick look at the golden name tag that was affixed to his right breast, which identified the man as 'Rufus.' "Just a rough week. You know, Rufus, work." They shared a small laugh before the young man, who probably wasn't even twenty-five, responded.

"Oh, you bet I do. Working here, I have some tough people to satisfy…and I'm not just talking about the residents!"

She continued walking towards the elevators, now conscious of how she must look. When she reached the door, she slipped off the large weight that was on her shoulder. As she pressed the ivory button to call the elevator, she looked back in the direction of Rufus and noticed he was still watching her. She could feel his gaze on her, knowing that part of it was concern, the other part lust. _Ehh. Not another pervert. _"I'm fine, Rufus. I'm sure you have something better you can do than watch me," she said with a somewhat stern tone.

"Ye…yes ma'am." And Rufus scurried off, knowing that he had looked at her for a moment too long.

After a few moments that seemed like an eternity, a soft ring could be heard in the lobby. Ada slowly meandered into the newly-arrived elevator. She noticed the lounge seat in the corner as the bellhop asked her for her floor. She answered "the fifth floor" while nearly falling into a daze. She sat her bag onto the seat and stood guard beside it. _Who knows what's been done on there. You couldn't pay me enough to sit on that_. The elevator doors shut tightly with another ring and slowly began its ascent to the fifth floor. Ada saw her reflection in the well-polished doors and was half horrified, half amused. _No wonder everyone has been asking me if I needed help. I look like I've been hit by train a few times. If only they knew_.

She ran her hand through her short, jet black hair and then rubbed her eyes sleepily. She grabbed her bag after noticing that the fourth floor light on the elevator floor panel had lit up. A few more seconds passed before the elevator stopped. As the reflective doors to the elevator opened, she nodded to the bellhop. He tipped his hat to her and smiled. She stepped over the small grooves in the door track and began her trek to her apartment.

The hallway seemed to last forever to Ada. She let her head hang low, and noticed that she could see her reflection there, too. _That's going to drive me crazy_. She now noticed how her clothes looked on her now. After she got out of the helicopter just outside of New York City, she changed into a spare set of clothes she had brought to Spain with her. The crimson colored dress with butterflies on the left hem had become covered with the blood from many ganados. _Try explaining that to the dry cleaners. Oh, I'm sorry. I was just in Spain, which was more like Hell, killing a lot of people that had become infested with a type of parasite. Oh, I have THE main sample of the parasite, too. People have died trying to get it. Want to see it?_

Now, she just wore a simple pair of blue jeans that were tight enough to show off her body but not the gun she had under the left cuff. The top she wore was a simple black v-neck shirt, with a butterfly patch on the left sleeve. Black high-heels completed the ensemble. The dark colors of the cloth matched the dark rings under her eyes. She didn't like the appearance of the dark rings, because she knew she was going to fall asleep soon whether it was in the bedroom of her apartment or not.

The tired-out woman finally reached her door: apartment number 505. Her hand snaked its way into her pocket, trying to fish out her keys. She pulled out a pewter key chain that had a lone key hooked to it. She took the key between her fingers and tried to get the key into the lock. She missed the first time and finally gets it into the key hole the third. _That would never have happened if I had even ten minutes of sleep_. She walked into the doorway, not even bothering to flick on the light switch that was only an arm's reach away to her right. Ada walked straight for her bedroom and let out a deep sigh of contentment when she saw the satin red sheets. _It's been too long_. The sheets seemed to shimmer from the moon light that forced its way through the curtains. At this point, Ada didn't care about the little bit of light, but about getting to the bed.

Ada let her body drop onto the bed after setting the black duffel bag on the floor by the closet. Her muscles were tight, but just laying down started to let them work out the tension. _The only thing better would be if a man was here to give me a massage. _A smile spread across her lips as her eye lids finally won their battle. Before falling asleep, though, she reached to her ankle holster and pulled out the small handgun that had rested there. Setting it onto the night table beside her, she felt sleep slowly take over her. Within minutes of stepping a foot in her Battery Park apartment, Ada Wong finally found sleep. However, she didn't notice the man that was sitting quietly in the living room. He looked at his watch, the hands of which shined an icy blue. He reached in front of him and opened up a compact laptop, watching intently on whatever was on the display.

She would never have missed seeing him if she had even ten minutes of sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Leon, you okay?" Ada asked him as he suddenly doubled over, obviously in pain. He clutched the right side of his chest, moaning in pain.

"Yeah," he responded, slowly gathering his composure. He steadied his footing, nearly standing up straight again before he began convulsing again.

Ada began to feel worried, the first time in a long time she felt that emotion for someone else. She took a step towards him, but again he steadied himself. The grunts of pain slowly disappeared as he turned toward her. _Something's not right_. She scanned his eyes and noticed that they weren't Leon's anymore; they were burnt orange. _Just like them_, Ada figured a moment too late.

His arms sprung from his side like striking vipers, quickly latching themselves onto her neck. She could feel his grip tighten, trying to squeeze the life out of her. Instinctively, she tried to pull his arms from her, but to no avail. Pain surged through her body as the struggle continued. She reached down for the bowie knife she kept strapped to her thigh. _Thanks for the advice, Leon_, Ada said to herself, remembering the incident in the castle by Ramon Salazar's garden. She grasped for it, but what she found made her eyes dart down. It wasn't there. _What!_ Her hand kept grabbing at the non-existent knife. _It should be there!_

Leon's grasp just kept getting tighter and tighter. An inferno raged inside of Ada's lungs, screaming for oxygen. Her eyes shut tightly for a moment before reopening. This time it wasn't even Leon, period.

"You thought you could betray me?" the man questioned, behind his dark sunglasses.

"We…Wesker? How did you…" Ada tried to ask, still trying to breathe a solitary breath. She was shocked to suddenly find that it was Wesker, not Leon, now. _There's no chance of me getting out of this alive_.

She fell backward onto the sandy, dirt floor. _This wasn't how it was supposed to happen._ As she felt her life begin to drift from her, she looked up one final time at her assailant.

He was grinning like a true maniac.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Four hours passed before the man, completely dressed in black, set down his computer onto the solid oak coffee table that was in front of him, not even bothering to close the top down. He walked slowly into the room where Ada was sleeping soundly. He could see that she was tossing and turning. _Must be having a nightmare. I would, too, if I were her. _The intruder slipped next to the night stand, searching for any weapons. He grabbed the handgun that was placed there. He took a look at it and noticed that it was a modified 9mm Blacktail. _Superior handling_. He took a few steps away from the bed, still looking around for more weapons.

He noticed the black duffel bag and walked over to it. He stooped down, slowly opening the zipper. The man reached into it and pulled out the titanium case that held the plaga samples. He slid the case back into the bag and sealed it shut. _This isn't what I came here for._

Just then, Ada nearly jumped out of her bed, gasping for air. Her eyes were wide open, yet she still didn't notice the man in black. She breathed in deeply, like she was suffocating or drowning. Then, after she realized that she hadn't been dying but dreaming, she started to calm down. Her hazel eyes scanned the room, making sure that Wesker wasn't in there. She was about to tell herself that she was safe when she saw the intruder. She lunged for where her gun should have been, but realized quickly that he was holding it. _Not again! _

"I know you must be a little bit confused, maybe scared, or possibly both. You're also wondering who I am," the man in black started saying.

She quickly noticed that he wasn't aiming her handgun AT her, but rather just holding it.

"I have two questions," Ada started to say in a demanding sort of tone.

"Who I am and who I represent." The man knew exactly what she was wondering. "But maybe a third would answer the first two."

Ada paused for a moment before asking. "Are you here to kill me?"

"Ma'am, if I were here to kill you, you would already be before God's holy throne explaining your sins to him and awaiting your judgment."

After thinking for a moment, Ada looked up into the face of the intruder. "Then you must work for the Organization."

He nodded his head slightly towards her. "Of course, don't take my word for it. I know that I, personally, wouldn't trust anyone. Especially in our line of work."

Reaching into the right side of his suit coat, he pulled out his wallet. He undid the silver clasp of the black leather and held it out to Ada. Still waking up, she reached for the wallet. She looked down at the ID, which identified the man as Lucas Stajan. The picture matched the man in front of her perfectly, down to the attire. _It's almost as if this picture was taken today_.

"Level B, huh?" she asked him aloud after reading the information from the card.

"Yeah, that's right. I know enough to survive, but not so much as to make me a liability," Lucas responded. He let out a small laugh, which was followed by a sigh. "I've never been much for politics. The more you know and are involved, the more political bull you become involved in. Morals and politics have never co-existed well, like oil and water."

Ada continued to study the ID card. She noticed that underneath his name and picture was the issue date of the card: August 17th, 2004. _This was issued only a week ago._ Other than that, there was a symbol in the background, which she quickly recognized as the Organization's: a small hourglass that sat in the blade of a sword which was surrounded by a large letter O. _Creative_. She then looked over at her handgun, which Lucas had set down on the dresser that he was leaning against. He followed her eyes to the gun.

"Oh, that's right," he said as he took the gun. He gave it one more look over and switched the safety to the on position before passing it over to Ada. "I didn't want you to try and shoot me just because I startled you. It's a good thing I did take it, because the safety was off," he continued, smiling slightly. "Now that you know who I am, I hope you don't and won't feel the need to use that on my account. I don't really want to die on my first assignment, you understand. I'm sure that you wouldn't want to die on your first assignment here, either."

"And you would know this how?" Ada asked suspiciously.

"From research, ma'am. Days and days of researching…"

Ada quickly cut him off before he could continue. "Ada's fine. Enough with 'ma'am.' What is your assignment here? Ada questioned. Lucas opened his mouth to speak. _Now we're getting somewhere._

But as Lucas was about to speak, his head quickly turned to the direction of the dining room where his laptop was. Ada was about to ask what was wrong when she heard what he was: a soft but piercing sound.

"Oh no."

_Those are two words that I never like hearing from anyone_.


	7. Chapter 7: Ada and Lucas

Chapter 7: Battery Park, NYC - August 24th, 2004 at 2:05 am EST: Ada and Lucas

Lucas could feel his pulse quicken as the sound of the alarm became noticeable to him. He could feel it quicken even more once he realized what the sound was.

"Oh no," he whispered to himself, but loud enough that Ada heard it. He saw her lips begin to move as if to ask a question, but he ignored her. His first thought was to check the laptop. As he left the bedroom, the alarm got louder in volume. Ada followed him to the dining room and could see the soft glow of the monitor.

"This isn't good, is it Lucas?"

"Well, you wanted to know what my assignment was, didn't you Miss…sorry. Ada," he corrected himself in mid-sentence. _He seems to be a bit nervous_, Ada thought to herself. _This can't be good._

After hitting a combination of keys on the keyboard, a password pop-up asked for a password. He quickly typed in his code, which in turn filled the screen with images. Most of the screen was taken up by security monitor feeds that covered nearly every important area of the Battery Park apartment building. On the bottom-right portion of the screen, a counter labeled "intruders" flashed repeatedly, first showing four. Then, as Lucas watched the front door's video monitor on his computer, a fifth man entered, causing the counter to jump up to five.

Lucas and Ada continued to watch the live feed as the four men looked back at the new arrival. _Obviously, he's the leader,_ Lucas and Ada thought simultaneously. Rufus, the bellboy who had greeted Ada when she entered the building, approached the five intruders. The leader took the young man aside as if to have a private conversation. However, as Rufus was moved more into the camera's line of sight, the man side-stepped him and placed his right hand under Rufus' chin and quickly twisted. _I recognize that technique. _The man in question released his grip on the now limp body that was formerly Rufus and then stepped off screen for a moment. He reappeared with headgear on; a type of gasmask with the eyes a special red. He stood at the camera, staring into it. _They know the camera's there,_ Lucas figured.

After a few moments of thinking of the past, another thought crossed Ada's mind. _Oh, no. He's here. _Seeing HUNK, aka John Davis, in that very building invoked a sudden sense of fear which was one of the first times she had felt the feeling in years. Lucas looked over at the stunned woman and began to take charge.

"Grab your things; I have a feeling that we don't have much time." Lucas reached into his suit coat and pulled out two handguns: Beretta 9mms. "And don't forget the black duffel bag," he suggested while he reached behind his back. _Is he supposed to protect me or the sample?_ Ada questioned. He pulled out two magazines of ammunition from seemingly nowhere as Ada ran into her room. After a few moments, Ada returned with two duffel bags; one was the black one with the sample and the other one was just as large. Lucas looked up at her after seeing the size of the other bag and got a sarcastic look on his face.

"Now 'by your things,' I envisioned a purse-sized bag or even something the size of a back pack, but another…"

"Don't worry; it won't slow us down," Ada replied, cutting him off. She had shaken off the shock of seeing HUNK, at least for the moment. "And besides, the toys in here could come in handy," she continued as she set the bags down.

"Sounds like you're not expecting a clean getaway."

"Were you?" After a brief pause, Lucas answered.

"Eh, guess not." He glanced back down to his laptop and then spoke again. "Would've been nice, though. It looks like we have two, maybe three minutes tops to get out of here before they make it to this floor." He glanced over at Ada at he closed the top portion of his notebook. "What all did he give you on your mission?"

_He reminds me so much of Leon._

"I'm sorry; what?" Ada asked, refocusing.

"What did Wesker give you before you went to Spain?"

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the PDA that Wesker had given to her. Then everything started to clear in Ada's mind. All of the times she had talked to Wesker during her mission, he seemed to know where she was and what was going on. She was surprised when he mentioned eliminating Leon. Why in the world would he have even mentioned him? Everything was adding up.

"Damn it! He traced me, didn't he?"

"Well, not much we can do about it now," Lucas answered as he looked it over. "I have a feeling that he can track us from this. But we can use this as decoy if we're lucky." He then slid the PDA into his suit's breast pocket. He slipped off the suit coat and tucked it into his bag with the laptop. Ada tried to give Lucas another look-over, now that the bulky suit coat was gone, but the room was still too dark. _Just like a blind date, except he's right in front of you and you still can't see his face_. She could, however, see him sling the bag with his laptop and suit jacket over his back. The Organization's hired-hand then went over to the balcony and peered out between the drapes.

"There's a new vehicle parked across the street, which means that they're watching the building. Either they know which room you should be in or they are hoping that we slip up and turn on a light," the man before Ada was explaining. "Are you ready, Ada?"

"Of course," she responded as she stooped down and picked up the duffel bags. She watched his form as he crossed in front of her to the door. _I've been ready for everything and anything before_. Then, he did something she wasn't ready for.

He turned on the lights.

Light quickly flooded the apartment, bathing everything with a soft white glow. Ada could finally get a look at Lucas Stajan. He is about 5'9, maybe 5'10 on a different day and weighed about 185 pounds. _A little smaller than Leon_, Ada compared. He wore an indigo blue tee that was tucked into his slacks. The slacks that she thought were black before were actually a charcoal gray. A set of black and gray athletic shoes finished the ensemble. Then she noticed the hardware.

On both sides of his hips, Ada noticed leather-molded holsters for his Beretta handguns. _Hmm, similar to a gunslinger. _A cell phone hung near the middle of his back, along with a few spare magazines. He also had a knife hanging at his thigh, similar to where Ada's was. His clothes weren't loose on his body, but they weren't tight enough to restrict motion.

His face hid his age. _He definitely took care of his health during his youth_. For being thirty years old, he had very few wrinkles and his skin was somewhat tanned. She looked at his eyes and noticed that they were green. _Wait a minute; they're not really just green. Maybe a greenish-gray_, she corrected to herself. _Definitely unique. _ His hair was short and a darker blond than the typical shade, a direct contrast to Leon's length. _Wait a minute…I've seen him before_.

He opened the door in front of them and peered to both sides before speaking to her in a soft but commanding way. "Come on."

"Lead the way." _And how exactly are we going to get out of here; the front door? And where have I seen you before?_

He had holstered one of his handguns but held the other one gently in front of him. He stepped out into the hallway and whispered out 'a minute forty-five.' Ada figured that was how much time before HUNK and his men made it to the fifth floor and discovered that she was missing. They quickly moved down the hall and passed the elevator. Pulling out a key from his right pocket, he opened up the door to Apartment 508. He stepped aside and let her in. When she stepped inside, she noticed something odd; a staircase right in the middle of the apartment. There was no living room, dining room, bedroom…nothing besides a set of stairs leading down. 'A minute twenty.'

The two agents of the Organization started to make their way down the staircase. After the first set of stairs, Lucas offered to take the heaviest duffel bag and Ada gladly accepted. She had only been awake for the past ten minutes, so fatigue was still a factor. 'Thirty seconds.' Lucas quickly pulled out the computer from his bag and looked at the main lobby video feed. He turned to Ada and began to whisper to her.

"It looks like only one of them stayed down here to cover the lobby. Looks like they didn't give you much credit." He then switched to the elevator cameras, seeing that the other four were in one elevator. _That means there shouldn't be anyone else in the lobby, _Lucas concluded.

"Answer me one question, would you? Why did you turn the lights on when you said that there was someone out there watching?"

"A distraction." After seeing Ada still puzzled, he elaborated. "By turning on the light, they'll go straight to that room, giving us more time to get out of here. If we didn't, they would probably systematically knock down every door, find the stair case and figure you were already gone. Granted, they'll knock 'em all down anyway after they figure out that you're not in your room anymore."

'15 seconds.'


	8. Chapter 7: The Mercenaries

Chapter 7: Battery Park, NYC - August 24th, 2004 at 2:00 am EST: HUNK and the Mercenaries

_She should be in there_.

That was one of the only thoughts that John Davis had before entering the Battery Park Building. He had just sent the rest of his team into the lobby. As the other four men waited patiently for their leader, John reached into a pocket of his tactical vest, pulling out a pack of Marlboro regulars. Although the summer season was in full force, there was a breeze that threatened to keep the cigarette that had just been taken out of the pack from being lit. Reaching into the same pocket, he pulled out a match book from some bar that was close by that he would never go to again. He then tossed the vest into the back seat of the vehicle for now. _It'd be damn stupid to wear that in there right away._ He pulled out a match and struck it against the side of his battle-worn face. The night winds had blinked, allowing enough time to allow the match to light the cigarette. After taking a few drags from the rolled tobacco, he threw it onto the pavement at his feet and crushed the top, extinguishing the red glow from the end. He smiled, drawing a parallel to what was about to come.

_He said she'll be here. _

With that being thought (and quietly whispered to the night sky), he walked across the street and stepped into the bright lobby. As soon he walked in, he glanced up and to the left, noticing the security camera. _The intel said that there would be a camera there. Good._ An annoying bellhop was hassling his group, and right now he really didn't want the extra nuisance. The bellhop followed the direction of one of the team member's finger as John Davis approached the group.

"What's the problem, Vi?" he asked the closest member.

"He says that we are not allowed in here because we don't have an invitation," responded Viacheslav Pistov with a thick Russian accent.

John then looked at the employee and started to take him aside. "We're only here to visit a friend…" he started to say as he looked at the name tag, "…Rufus."

"But sir, no one told me that they were expecting visitors. It's company policy."

He looked at the young man in front of him and laughed a bit to himself. _Who's policy would that be now; the Organization's?_ The email that Wesker had sent to him had explained that this building was actually a safe house for agents of the Organization, and that it was only used by one agent at a time. _Of course, bellhops and cleaners excluded. _That made Rufus an employee of the Organization as well. Anything that happened at the Battery Park Building would be covered up and kept quiet to the public. _Limit civilian casualties but if you come across anyone from the Organization…well, then. That's a different story_; he remembered Wesker's words. This made him smile a little bit wider.

"Now, tell me something now, Rufus. Would you tell someone that you were coming to kill them?"

He had been leading the bellhop right into the sight of the camera so that everything would be on camera. John Davis didn't care whether his face was on camera or not. _No one has found me yet._ After one last glance towards the camera, he looked into the scared eyes of the man, no, boy in front of himPerhaps he had an idea that he was going to die because of the comment the tall man in front of him made. Maybe it was the fact that the other four men had left the lobby and are now coming back with weapons and tactical vests. _Now, let the games begin._ He sidestepped the bellhop while reaching for his chin. Finding it with his right hand, he grabbed at the back of it with the left and twisted. A loud cracking sound rung through the lobby followed by a soft thud as Rufus' remains dropped to the floor.

"So, did one of you bring in my gear?" he asked, unaffected by what he had just done.

"Esta aqui, jefe," responded Ramon Ortiz as he carried it over to him. John met him half way and took the tactical vest first, slipping it on and closing the clasps with a sharp _click_. Next came the modified M-16K rifle. He flipped on the laser sight to make sure that it worked, and then looked down the sights of the sleek weapon. He then donned his trademark: a type of red-eyed gas mask. He smiled underneath the mask and stepped back into the view of the security camera. He looked straight up into the camera, his eyes hidden behind the red fiberglass. _That's right. I'm coming._

"Alright, men; here's what we're going to do. Ramon, you take the staircase," HUNK commanded. His voice changed from the playful tone he had been using with Rufus to a deadly serious one. "Evgeni, you're staying here. Go outside and wait for any lights to come on. If one does, radio in. Parker, you're taking the first elevator. Vi, you and I'll take the second one. Intel from our friend Wesker says that the target is on the fifth floor and likely to not be alone. Anyone with her, kill on sight." He took a pause and added his final order: "The bitch is mine. If anyone kills her, they'll die as a replacement."

All of the men nodded and approved in their various languages: Ramon Ortiz in Spanish, Viacheslav Pistov and Evgeni Koralenko in Russian, and Parker Sullivan in English.

"Then let's get moving, people. The prick probably already triggered an alarm, so if my guess is right, we have maybe ten minutes to get the job done. Don't forget about the virus sample, either. Although, I couldn't care less if we would leave it behind."

Pistov signaled for Davis to come over to him for a moment. "Will the boy be alright by himself?"

Davis glanced over at Koralenko and then looked back at Pistov. "You trained him. What do you think?"

Pistov thought for a moment to himself and then nodded.

And with that, the five men dispersed throughout the building. Ortiz moved towards the stair well vestibule double time, reaching it as the elevator doors opened for Pistov, Sullivan, and Davis. He heard gunfire and turned around for a second. After a few moments, the body of the elevator employee was tossed out of the second elevator in an unceremonious heap before the doors shut. Over the radio, John Davis made it clear that he had 'just done some house cleaning' and to continue with the mission.

Koralenko went outside to the unmarked van that the mercenary group parked at a nearby Subway. Not wanting to be noticed, he hopped inside of the van and watched the windows of the tall Battery Park apartment building. He had asked Pistov why Davis was so eager to kill the woman, to which his reply was 'don't ask him or Sullivan.' And he didn't, because what Pistov said was law, as far as he was concerned. Not thirty seconds after he went outside did he see a light suddenly glare. He reached for his radio to contact the others.

"Koralenko to squad, Koralenko to squad. We have light on the fifth floor. I repeat, we have light on the fifth floor." He could feel his pulse quicken, knowing that they were getting close to the moment.

HUNK's voice came over the radio next. "Good work, comrade. Now go inside and wait in the lobby. Turn off the lights so that no one from the street can see you and make sure that no one comes in or leaves. Understand?"

"ПОНЯТЫЙ (understood)," Koralenko responded as he entered the building again. He quickly switched out the lights of the lobby. He moved Rufus' body back behind the reception desk, just in case someone would peer inside. Ortiz was only to the fourth floor, since he decided to look down each of the hallways of the other floors from the stair well. The two elevators were rising slowly, approaching the fifth floor also. Pistov began to fidget, which HUNK noticed.

"You think something isn't right." For a moment, he thought that Pistov would say no, but then he spoke for him. "You're right. If you were trying to escape, why turn on the light to show that you were here?" Davis thought for a moment, but was interrupted by the elevator's ding as the fifth floor came into view from behind the reflective doors. Both men adopted a ready-to-shoot stance, protecting the other person's back as they peeked out of the elevator cab. "Go back down, Vi. Something's not right here."

_She better still be here_.


	9. Chapter 7: The Observer

Chapter 7: Battery Park, NYC - August 24th, 2004 at 2:05 am EST: The Observer

What neither Lucas nor HUNK knew was there was a third party at the building. Sitting outside in a black BMW Z4 was a woman dressed completely in black. The Observer had watched as Lucas had entered the building nearly six hours ago, followed later by Ada. She also had been there as the mercenary team had arrived. Now she watched as John Davis stood outside by his unmarked van, smoking his cigarette.

"Such a filthy habit," she commented as he dropped the cigarette from his hand.

A soft glow faded in and out in the passenger's seat for a few moments before becoming a solid green, reflecting off of her face. She reached for the PDA and glanced at the screen. _Of course it's you._

"Report," the caller demanded.

"You really need to work on your people skills, Albert," the woman in the driver's seat responded with a straight face. The digital figure was none other than Albert Wesker.

"Some other time," Wesker fired back.

"The mercenaries have arrived. Ada Wong and an operative of the agency is on the premises. Should I go and assist?" she asked him, a hint of hope apparent in her voice.

"No, not yet. Let HUNK and his men have their chance. If I'm right, you'll get your chance later, Jae. HUNK might have been able to eliminate her if she was alone, but this operative is undoubtedly well-trained and experienced. They will get out alive…this time."

Jae, the Observer, let out a small sigh before replying. "Affirmative." After a brief pause, she asked a final question. "Do you want me to let the mercenaries know of the presence of the other man?"

"They should have already planned on at least one other person being there," Wesker answered. A smile then crept across his lips. "However, do what you will."

He smiled because he knew exactly what she would do. _She will tell them nothing._


	10. Chapter 8: Ada and Lucas

Chapter 8: Battery Park, NYC - August 24th, 2004 at 2:05 am EST: Ada and Lucas

Lucas turned to Ada and holstered his Beretta. "Wait here by the door."

Ada nodded. _Let's see what he can do_. Lucas reached into his backpack and pulled out a small black box. He pulled open the lid gently, pulling out an ordinary looking white cloth. He closed the box, clasping it shut tightly. He put the box back into the bag, zipped it shut, and tightened its straps against his body. Lucas slowly pushed the secret door open, sliding into the darkness. Ada slipped into the darkness as well, waiting and watching. She could barely see Lucas, even though he was wearing white. Even the light that came in from the New York street barely made him visible, and that was only if you knew where to look.

The first thing that Lucas noticed was the size difference between him and the poor, unaware fool. _He maybe has a couple of inches on me…Lovely_. Slowly creeping up behind him, Lucas took one last size measurement and a moment to envision what he was about to do. Then, he acted.

Before Koralenko could turn around or even react, Lucas kicked the back of his right knee, causing it to collapse. Evgeni's entire body then followed suit, thrown off by the sudden imbalance. Lucas quickly put his left arm around his throat and forced the cloth into his face with the right arm. After a few minutes of muffled struggle, Koralenko lost consciousness, dropping to the ceramic floor. Lucas glanced to the left and noticed Rufus' body and then at his watch. _No time for feeling sorry; now we're on borrowed time_.

"Ada, let's move! We're out of time!"

_He doesn't kill unless he needs to. Probably military._ Ada began to move towards the class door when she heard a soft _bong_ sound. _The elevator…_

"Lucas; someone's in the elevator coming down."

"Told you we were on borrowed time," he quickly replied will moving towards her.

"Oh, I thought that when you said 'we're out of time,' you meant that we could sit down and have a nice long chat," she fired back sarcastically.

Lucas' hand reached down for one of the handguns at his side but decided to leave it in its holster. A smirk worked its way through his lips as he pushed open the glass door. He held the door open for Ada to go through, and then he followed her out.

Though it was only around 2:00 am and there were barely any lights on in the neighboring buildings, the reflecting light from the moon lit the street just enough for Ada and Lucas to see. Lucas pointed near the street corner at a red Dodge. Understanding immediately, she started moving towards it as Lucas headed over to the white van that had arrived shortly before the alarm went off on his computer. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out the PDA and smiled. He looked down at the door handle to the driver's side door and thought '_nothing in life is ever easy_' before pulling on it. _You're kidding me_, he said under his breath when the door popped open. He leaned inside and hid the device underneath of the driver's seat, display down. _If it's not theirs, then oh well…_He shut the door quietly and started to make his way over to his own car.

His pace quickened from a brisk walk to a jog. Lucas glanced inside the apartment building door as he paced and saw nothing but the unconscious mercenary. _Eh, probably should've moved him. Too late now_. Ada was waiting for him impatiently by the trunk of the Dodge. As he neared it, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of car keys attached to a small, pewter keychain. Moments later, he was at the car, popping open the trunk. He tossed in his backpack and moved to the front of the car while Ada took the time to set down and position her duffel bags. By the time she shut the top, the engine roared to life.

Lucas leaned over the front seats and pushed open the passenger door for Ada. She slid into the seat and pulled her door shut quickly. Lucas shifted the car into drive and started off. That's when he and Ada both noticed the black BMW, although neither of them said anything about it or its occupant.

After ten minutes of awkward silence and trying to stay awake, Ada finally asked the obvious question: "Where are we going, Lucas?"

Lucas' eyes blinked quickly, as if he was waking up from a daze. "A small place in New Jersey." After a small pause, he looked over at Ada. "I have a little cabin there. Hopefully, we'll be able to get there soon take a breather. If that's ok with you," he finished.

"Its ok; I trust you."

_What did I just say_? Ada asked herself. She spun it in her mind over and over, wondering why. She finally came to a conclusion: _I just do._ Lucas could see her mind working, due to the fact that she was biting down on her lip slightly.

"Everything alright, Ada?"

Lucas' voice snapped her back to reality. "Yeah; everything's fine. Maybe I'm just a little tired still," she explained. She looked over at him, trying to find his eyes. He eventually looked over at her, and she tried to find any hint of deceit. She found none.

"That would be completely understandable. If you want, I'll wake you up when we get there," Lucas suggested. Half of Ada wanted to stay awake and try to find out as much as she could about her new best friend, but the other half just wanted to get to sleep.

"How long?"

"About an hour and a half," he answered.

"Sounds good," Ada replied as she readjusted herself in the seat. She rested her head against the window and closed her eyes. She was nearly asleep when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder. "Yes?"

"Mind if I play some music?"

She felt a smile forming. "As long as it isn't loud, obnoxious, or something that could be confused with being just noise." Lucas didn't respond to her answer. She was definitely surprised when she didn't hear hard rock, metal, or rap when the music came on. Not guitars, not drums, not electronics, but a piano. _Who are you and how in the world did you get into our line of work, Lucas?_ After about a minute of listening to the music, she finally fell asleep. Lucas glanced over at her and smiled. _This job will be finished soon. Just get home, contact the Organization as to the new drop-off point, and then get her there. Don't let yourself get attached, Lucas. She doesn't even remember you. _"Moonlight Sonata" and other great Beethoven pieces filled his ears and mind as the drive to Medford Lakes, New Jersey progressed. As the music continued, he had a final thought before he stopped thinking about the job: _Who are you trying to fool, Lucas?_ _You already are._


	11. Chapter 8: The Mercenaries

Chapter 9: Battery Park, NYC - August 24th, 2004 at 2:05 am EST: HUNK and the Mercs

As the elevator doors opened, Pistov knew that something was wrong. After glancing down both ends of the hallway from the inside of the elevator cab, he stepped out with his handgun held out in front. The Russian moved quickly through the hallway to the lobby. He noticed the open door which leads to the hidden staircase, and then saw Evgeni's body. _Het (No)_; _нравиться het_ (_Please no_). He stooped down and quickly felt for a pulse. When he found it, he let out a sigh of relief. His hand quickly reached up for the hand set that was attached to his vest.

"Pistov to team. Koralenko is unconscious. There's a door down here that was hidden before. I believe that the target is has escaped. Over."

John Davis' voice quickly came across the radio frequency. "Everyone get your asses back down to the lobby!"

Ortiz let out an irritated "mierda" under his breath as he started his way back down the five flights of stairs. Pistov looked over Koralenko as he slowly came to, trying to remember what happened. Davis and Sullivan took an elevator down. Davis let fly with expletive after expletive while Sullivan remained silent. _I've never seen him this angry. But I wanted a shot at that bitch, too. She didn't kill his brother; she killed mine._

A few minutes later, all of the mercenaries were assembled in the lobby. When Davis saw the hidden door and then the stair case inside, he pounded a hole into the wall. Koralenko was moving about, still shaking off the effects of the knockout drug that Lucas had used.

"What the hell happened, Evgeni! I leave you with a simple assignment and…"

Without thinking, Koralenko cut in. "They came from nowhere."

Infuriated, Davis quickly hit him with a right cross on the jaw. Pistov looked away, knowing that it was coming. _You never cut off the one in command. Did you forget that, Evgeni? _Koralenko reached up and rubbed at the point of contact, looking into the other man's eyes with fear. "I'm sorry, sir."

"At least we know that she wasn't the first one through here. Otherwise, you would've been dead. Other than that, we don't have any idea where to look." _And that can only mean one thing: telling Wesker that we need more time and information._

Nearly on cue, a cell phone rang. Davis reached for it, since it was his, as he let out another curse word. _That didn't mean I wanted to talk to him now, damn it_. He put the phone up to his left ear and spoke: "Yes?"

"I'd ask if you had the sample, but someone told me that I should work on my people skills. So, I'll ask it this way: how did it go?"

Davis could feel that Wesker already knew how everything went. "She got away."

Wesker let out a thoughtful 'hmm' over the line before responding. "That means that chances are she has the sample, correct?"

_Might as well finish this_. "Correct."

"Ah," was all that Wesker replied with. After a few moments, he spoke again. "I'm assuming you'd like to continue with the job, since you've already been paid?"

"Paid or not, I want to mutilate her and you know that," he replied.

"Then go outside."

The line went dead.

For the first time in years (which for some of the mercenaries means the first time), they saw a look of confusion on their leader's face. Naturally, they all went for their weapons, prepared for an ambush. Pistov noticed that Davis was staring outside for longer than a glance.

"Is someone supposed to be out there, sir?"

He looked over at his second in command. "Be ready for anything. But do not fire unless I say." After folding the phone and sliding it into his pocket, John Davis looked back towards the door. "Now come on."

The mercenary team moved like a military unit: Ortiz took the point position, opening the glass door slowly and stepping out while Pistov held it open. Sullivan moved next, holding his custom HK-5 tightly to him. Davis and Koralenko followed him, leaving Pistov to cover the rear. They didn't worry about being seen: they wouldn't be around long enough for anyone to be able to do a thing. Leaning against the white van was the Observer, holding the PDA that Lucas had planted in the van.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Davis.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked coyly.

Davis was getting pissed off. "Cut it out with the shitty games, little girl. Are you what Wesker was referring to?"

A smile started to form across the Observer's face. "I'm here, aren't I? Standing in front of the unmarked white van, which is obviously yours? So obvious, in fact, that the people you were targeting were able to pick it out and place this in there?" She finished as she tossed the PDA to HUNK.

"And this is?"

"It was your only way of tracking them, dumb ass. I hope for your sake that you can fight better than you can think. Or maybe that was the problem tonight?" she remarked.

A couple of the mercenaries couldn't help be amused, particularly Sullivan. _If she doesn't watch out, she'll be laying here on the ground dead, just like that bellhop._

HUNK was beginning to only see red. "Look, I think that you should reconsider what you said for your own sake," intimidated an increasingly-infuriated man. "Quickly."

What the Observer did next was something that none of the men expected. Instead of apologizing or changing the subject, the woman leaned her head back and laughed. HUNK took a step closer to her, not knowing what he intended to do.

"Ah, a pissing match, huh?" She took a step towards the approaching man. He started to move closer when he saw something behind her dark-lens sunglasses. What he saw was enough to send him back a couple steps.

"Oh, did this scare you?" she asked as she removed the sunglasses. Her eyes weren't normal human eyes: more like cat's eyes that glow a bright amber color at night. "Now that we have an understanding here, we should probably get down to business. Agreed, Mr. Davis?" She moved the sunglasses back up her nose, covering her inhuman eyes.

"Yeah, lets. Who the hell are you?"

"I thought we got past this part, didn't you, Mr. Pistov?" she asked, turning towards Viacheslav. "My name is Jae Forscythe, and I'm considered an Observer for the enterprise that I work for. Now, you should want to know where Ada and her bodyguard went. I can tell that you do, Mr. Sullivan. Ada killed your brother, did she not?"

Sullivan started to step forward, but was quickly stopped by Ortiz's arm.

"Oh, I hit a sore spot. I cry your pardon."

"Ignore ella, Parker. Ella es una puta; nada mas," Ortiz muttered to Sullivan.

"Nunca llamame una puta un otra vez, señor Ortiz. Voy a rajar sus pelotas apagadas, si hace. Now, let's not waste any time. I'm working on some things with who she might be with. I'll call you when I find out. Leave your phones on and stay off of them. If I call and you don't answer, I'll take care of the problem myself. And that means no money, no revenge, nothing for any of you."

She turned and started to head towards her BMW before Davis called with one last question. "Did you know what you were getting into when they did that to you?"

Jae stopped and turned around to face Davis and his men one more time. "Of course I did. I helped develop it."

After turning the BMW's engine over, the Observer pulled out from the curb and drove off. Wesker called her on the PDA. "How did it go?"

"Better. That's better. I'm glad that you didn't say 'report' or else I would have done something not so pleasant." She laughed a little, knowing that it was an empty threat. _Or was it?_ "Well, I think I made a few of them piss themselves, Albert. And I tell you, it was great watching that ass Davis back off."

Wesker couldn't help but smile. _Why didn't I do this sooner?_


	12. Chapters 9 and 10

Chapter 9: NYC - August 24th, 2004 at 2:20 am EST

After driving for about ten minutes, Jae pulled the BMW into the parking lot of _Peaceful Nights_, a cheap hotel. All of the lights were out in the rooms, and even if anyone asked what she was doing she'd say she just lost something in the car and was looking for it. She reached into the back seat and grabbed an expensive laptop before moving the driver's seat back. Beside her was a digital camera. As the laptop booted up, the Observer removed the memory stick from it and placed it into the laptop.

As the laptop finished booting up, she double clicked on a program titled "PhotoHouse, Ver. 2.1." As the program loaded, however, it became obvious that the program wasn't an art program but in fact was a database of sorts. She imported a photo that she had taken of the Organization's agent and clicked on "search." A text box blipped onto the screen, advising her that the search would take about ten minutes.

_That's ten minutes too long._

Chapter 10: NYC - August 24th, 2004 at 2:30 am EST

After what seemed to be an eternity, a profile finally appeared on the liquid crystal display screen. Jae quickly scanned it, looking for locations and past work history. She reached for her PDA and quickly contacted Wesker.

"What is it?" Wesker asked as he swiveled his chair toward the monitor.

"The Organization's agent is Lucas Stajan. I'm sending you the information on him now." As she spoke, she was already preparing the profile to send to Wesker's profile. Moments later, he received it and opened the zip file.

"Lucas Stajan…" Wesker mumbled as he started to skim through the dossier. Jae read aloud some of the highlights over the PDA.

"Looks like he's seen combat. He joined the US Navy in 1990 and immediately entered into the Navy SEALs program. By the time he was left the Navy, he was already a lieutenant. After that, it looks like he just dropped off the map…Wait; this is interesting. Apparently, he served in the Raccoon City Police Department for a year in '97."

This information slipped Wesker's attention before, but now he was really focused on it. He quickly scrolled back to the top of the profile and stared at the picture. _Those eyes…_Then everything hit him at once.

"Jae, how would you rate our friend Mr. Davis' fighting ability?"

After thinking for a few seconds, she replied: "Maybe a seven. His real ability lies in escaping from death, not creating it." She half-expected her boss to laugh slightly. So when he didn't, she became unsettled. "What is it, Albert?"

"This man poses a problem. Mr. Davis and his group are over-matched."

"How dangerous can this guy be?" she asked, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Don't judge what you haven't seen. He applied for the STARS program and was nearly accepted. I wanted him on the team, but Irons didn't. 'He'd be of the most use on the regular police force,' was his excuse. However, I knew that Lucas had found out about some of Irons', let's say, eccentricities. The foolish police chief had it out for him. A few weeks later, Stajan gave his resignation and left. The man cannot be bought or persuaded to do anything that he feels is not the right thing. If he finds out what the Organization is planning to do, or if they decide to clean their hands of Ada, there is not a doubt what he will do."

Sensing what Wesker was getting at, she finished his thought. "He would try to destroy the sample and attempt to protect her."

"With him, there is no try. The SEAL in him would not allow it any other way," Wesker responded. "Do you have an address or any properties associated with him?"

The Observer skimmed through the profile and answered: "It appears that there is a property listed under Lucas and Therra Stajan in Medford Lakes, New Jersey. It's about an hour and a half from here, Albert."

"Contact the mercenaries and tell them the location."

"Not a problem."

Jae was about to disconnect the call when Wesker spoke again.

"And one more thing: if you have to choose between Ada and Lucas, eliminate Lucas. He's a much greater threat."

"Consider it done."

After about three rings, John Davis picked up the ringing cell phone. "Where are they?" he asked.

"Medford Lakes, New Jersey. When you get off of the exit, look for my car. Get there in an hour and fifteen minutes, because if you don't, I'll go alone." With that final warning, Jae hung up the phone.

_Cocky bitch_.

"Medford Lakes, Sullivan. Get driving now!"


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter 12: Medford Lakes, NJ - August 24th, 2004 at 3:30 am EST

After about an hour, Ada awoke from her sleep. She rubbed at her eyes sleepily, giving her eyes time to focus. She had slept soundly, definitely needing the rest. Glancing over at Lucas, she could see he was completely focused on the road. Even though it was still pretty dark outside, she was able to get a grasp of the scenery. _Definitely a place that someone could get lost in; great choice._ So far, Ada's conclusion that Lucas was an intelligent strategist who could be trusted was on the money. _But if he works for the Organization, he can turn on you…Remember that_. _You also don't know anything about him. _She began to wonder about how Lucas got to this point: the point of being a bodyguard/transporter for an unknown organization. _That's important to know if you're going to trust your life to him_.

"You've read my file, so you know how I got to this point. I know nothing about you, Lucas."

Lucas just continued looking up the road for a moment before responding. "Well, I don't have enough time to tell the long version, so here's the short version." He paused for a few moments and then began: "I joined the Navy when I was 18 and joined the SEALS when I was 22. Eventually, I resigned from the military and started to work for police forces around the country so that I could be with my wife and children. In 1998, I lost them to the horrendous Raccoon City incident. After that, I had no reason to stay in the United States, so I rejoined the military. They had me running covert ops in Iraq before and after 9/11…After two years of fighting a war that many didn't want to be a part of, I was decommissioned from the military again. Shortly after that, the Organization contacted me and offered me a job. And that brings me to you and this point," he finished as he made a final right turn. _Maybe she'll remember now._

Ada studied Lucas' face as he told his story, but even more so after he mentioned Raccoon City. She remembered being helped by someone as she worked her way to the police station, and that he was trying to get to his family. _Could it really be? _He turned to look her in the eyes. She focused on his greenish-grey ones, and suddenly the memories of that night flooded back to her.

"Luke?"


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 13: Raccoon City – September 29th, 1998

The thick stench of death permeated through the dark night. Cries of pain from the living and moans of hunger from the undead poured throughout the streets of Raccoon City on that fateful night. The T-Virus had made its way into the sewer system, eventually infecting the unsuspecting residents. Many of the streets were littered with the corpses of the recently deceased, while those who had died earlier stumbled down the dark alleys. Ada needed to find John, who was working as a scientist for the Umbrella Corporation. She could make her way to him through the Raccoon City Police Department; that's what he had told her.

The only problem was that she was one against an entire horde of zombies. Everywhere Ada went, she seemed to find more and more of them. The only signs of life were the dying screams of people meeting their ends rather unceremoniously. _Seems that I came unprepared for this_, she thought as she looked at her handgun. She looked ahead of her and saw Kendo's Gun Shop. Even better yet, no zombies were in her path. She began running towards the shop.

Once she made it to the doors, she froze in place for a moment. She saw the owner, who she presumed to be Kendo, lying dead on the floor in the middle of what seemed to be a million shards of broken glass. She needed more ammunition, however. Ignoring her instincts, she ran into the store. Many of the glass cases were broken and missing their contents. However, she quickly found some bullets and started to grab the extra clips.

By the time she heard the rustling behind her, the zombie was nearly on her. A voice rang out from outside. "Get down!" Having quick reflexes, she rolled to her right, towards the door to the alleyway. Three shots rang out, shattering even more glass. Then with a thud, the former gun shop owner, now a mindless walking corpse, dropped to the ground with nearly no head left. Two of the shots had penetrated the forehead, causing the head to be unrecognizable. Ada turned around and aimed towards where the shots came from and saw a man outside. He quickly came inside, hands (and guns) up. She quickly put her gun down.

"Unlucky bastard," she said, referring to the headless corpse.

"You got that right," the other man responded. He looked down at the corpse. "Damn!"

"What is it?" Ada asked as she grabbed for her gun again.

"I missed," he said, pointing to the body. "Three shots fired, two in the head and one in the shoulder. All three should've been in the head," he explained. Ada found this oddly amusing and the two strangers shared a quick laugh. "Looks like you could use with some help, ma'am."

"Do you know how to get to the police station? I'm supposed to meet someone there," she asked the man.

"Yeah," he answered with a sneer. "My house is close by to it. I wouldn't mind with the extra set of eyes, either," he answered. "I'm sure you could, too." He reached for his arm, which had a trail of blood across the forearm. Seeing Ada's worry, he quickly spoke: "Don't worry; not a bite. Car accident with one who WAS bitten."

_He's alright._ "And your name?"

"Lucas Stajan. But Luke will suit just fine."

"Ada Wong."

Lucas smiled slightly before speaking again. "Well, all of the pleasantries being said, the police station is only about a quarter of a mile that way," he said as he pointed west. "My car is no good, and I don't really feel like trying to take the time to break into a car and hotwire it. Unless you have a car?" When Ada shook her head, he sighed. "Oh well. We better get a move on. By now, the zombies are already headed this way."

"Agreed," Ada commented.

Lucas slowly opened the alleyway door and peeked out. He made a "come on" gesture as he stepped out. As the two made their way to the end of the alley, he whispered jokingly to Ada. "What a night."

"You're calm under pressure," Ada replied.

"The SEALs'll do that to you. These things are easy to deal with. No minds to speak of except. I'm used to fighting men that are at least smart enough to try to dodge a bullet. The only problem with these things is that they're relentless."

A minute later, however, Lucas became completely unnerved. "Oh, no." He was staring towards a house on the left side of the road. Ada followed his eyes and saw that most of the houses' windows were broken, just like the ones at Kendo's shop. He slowly walked up the front lawn towards the town house, fearing the worst. He looked inside and saw blood. Blood was everywhere. Ada looked down at his left hand, the one that was clutching his gun, and saw a gold wedding band.

"I'm sorry, Luke. I really am."

A single tear escaped from his eyes before he seemed to lose all emotion. No sorry, no humor, no remorse, not even hate. "Thank you." He glanced back behind them, and then back towards the police station. "Come on," was all he said until they arrived at the large building.

Ada's heartstrings tugged at her for a few moments. This man, this Navy SEAL, whom she just met about five minutes ago, had just undergone the most traumatic experience that he would probably ever experience: discovering his family dead. She wanted to find out about them, but knew that this wasn't the time or the place.

As they approached the Raccoon City Police Department, the sounds of the undead became louder. _They're nearby._ Two large oak doors protected the interior from the chaos outside. She quickly reached them, and turned to Lucas. "Come on! Before they get here." She realized that they were already there, though. Some were stumbling from the sides of the building while others were coming from surrounding houses, even Lucas Stajan's. Ada heard Lucas reloading his two guns and came to a realization. _He wants to die._

"You're not coming, are you?" she asked quietly.

He looked back at her, his greenish-grey eyes focusing on her hazel ones. "You know I'm not." She saw in his eyes tremendous pain, but his face didn't show it.

He raised the gun in his right hand and aimed at the closest of the monsters. "Now go." He fired, dropping the stumbling body to the ground with a single shot. He started to move towards the forthcoming horde and began firing. Ada admired him for his courage and valor. _Definitely a Navy SEAL, _she whispered as she pulled open the thick doors. One more thought passed through her mind as the cracks of gunfire rang through the night air: _I have a feeling that I'll see you again._


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Medford Lakes, NJ - August 24th, 2004 at 3:30 am EST

_I can't believe it_. However, here he was, sitting across from her, his eyes looking back into hers. She just continued to stare into them, making sure that she was right.

"Did you ever find the person you were going to meet?" Lucas asked.

Ada's hand rubbed around her right eye before answering. "I thought you read my file, Luke."

"I skipped some of the parts that focused around Raccoon City. I didn't want to drudge up too much of the past," he replied. For a moment, it looked like he might tear up, but he fought the urge back.

Ada nearly asked "why," but remembered how the Stajan household had looked that night: it looked like a few cans of crimson colored paint had been splashed onto the floors and walls. _But it wasn't paint._ Then, she remembered seeing bodies crawling out from the broken bay windows while he started to move towards what she thought was his death. _Oh, he didn't have to…_

"No, I didn't. He," she paused for a second. "He was already dead before I found him." Ada had loved John, even though he was only supposed to be a way to retrieve some of Umbrella's research. A tear ran down her face, the trail glistening from the glow of the dome light.

"I'm sorry that I brought it up, Ada," he apologized as he raised his hand to her. He wiped the tear away. _I should never have asked. _"I guess we both lost people we loved that night."

Ada began to wonder why she felt so vulnerable, an emotion that she feared. _I thought that I was over him_. More thoughts poured into her mind. _Maybe it's not because of John that you're feeling this, but because of Luke. _She could've thought of even more reasons but was interrupted by the ringing of Lucas' cell phone. He reached for it, pulling his hand away from her face. A part of her wanted the hand to stay there. She didn't understand why, but she missed the warmth and comfort that it provided.

He flipped open the phone and glanced at the number on the screen. He let out a quick sigh and answered. "Hello, Mr. Laird." He rubbed his forehead with the palm of his other hand as he spoke. Ada could hear the other man's deep voice. _Well, we know he smokes, _she thought sarcastically.

"You know that you were supposed to keep her out of sight, didn't you Stajan? Last time I checked, out of sight meant not seen or known about."

Lucas tried to explain, but Gerald Laird, the head of security at the Organization wouldn't let him. "We could've lost the sample, Lucas. That wouldn't have pleased the bosses."

_Are you more worried about the sample or the person, _Lucas wondered. "Sir, someone knew she was already there. Five men entered Battery Park and knew exactly where to go. Nothing that happened could've been prevented." After taking a breath, he told his superior about the dead bellhop.

Completely side-stepping the issue of Rufus, he asked about the condition of the sample. "Tell me that you have the sample, Stajan."

Slightly annoyed by his superior, Lucas responded. "We have it, Mr. Laird. Don't you care about Ada at all or that someone knew where to look for her? I thought she was why I was assigned to this."

"On first name terms with her, are you? Anyway, that's the cost of clearance, Stajan."

Lucas had forgotten that Ada was sitting in the car beside him. "And that means?"

"That means that we wouldn't hire someone to protect her, but what she was carrying. Are you honestly that stupid? People are expendable. What they retrieve are not."

A dumbfounded look spread across the man in the driver's seat. "What do you want me to do now, Laird?" Lucas questioned, beginning to lose his temper.

"It's either Mr. Laird or sir, Stajan. Coming from the military, you should know better," the supervisor fumed. "She's a liability to the Organization now. They were after her, not you. You can still be useful. Take care of the problem. We'll send someone to take clean up. Then bring the sample back to us."

The response given by the Cigarette-Smoking Man, whom Ada began to think Laird as looking and acting like, rang through her mind over and over. _I should've known better._ The vulnerability from before was replaced by intense anger. Then she began to wonder what Lucas was going to do: either do as he was ordered or the opposite. _Why would he?_

"Are you still in New York, Stajan?" A few moments passed without any type of response. "Lieutenant Stajan?"

Lucas looked over at Ada, remembering the events of September 29th, 1998. He thought about all that he lost and how he allowed himself to be used as a political tool in the aftermath. _Not again_. _Never again._

"No sir," Lucas finally answered.

"Then where are you?"

"Just outside of New Haven, Connecticut."

Silence filled the car as Ada, Lucas and Gerald all considered Lucas' response. To Lucas, it meant becoming a liability himself to the Organization; To Gerald Laird, it meant that he would probably end up losing a few men trying to retrieve the sample themselves and further prolonging of experimental research on las plagas; and to Ada, it meant that she had someone she could finally trust.

"Why the hell would you go north, Stajan, when you know that you should be getting her closer to Washington?"

"That's what those men would've figured, too, sir."

Another long pause. "Do you realize what you're forcing me to do, Lieutenant?"

Lucas hit the end button on his cell phone and snapped the lid shut.

"Of course I do," he answered aloud.


	16. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Washington, DC - August 24th, 2004 at 3:32 am EST

Gerald Laird, a man past his fifties and too old for all of the drama that his current job is providing, realized that Lucas Stajan had just become a major problem for the Organization. _Bull shit_, he said to himself after Lucas' New Haven, CT response. He needed a cigarette tremendously right now, but he didn't have a pack with him. _I'll definitely need them after today._

Laird decided to call Lucas' bluff. "Why the hell would you go north, Stajan, when you know that you should be getting her closer to Washington?"

The response was a slap across the face. "That's what those men would've figured, too, sir."

_You don't know who you're messing with. _He started tapping his fingers against the edge of his polished oak desk, a habit he had picked up after dealing with terrible news for too many years. _This job just isn't worth it anymore_. _I thought this man would follow any orders he was given. Hell, he was a Navy SEAL, for goodness sakes._

"Do you realize what you're forcing me to do, Lieutenant?"

His fingers suddenly stopped drumming as he heard the response: a dial tone. _Well, I guess that answers that._ He pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed a few numbers before hitting "send." As he waited for the other person to answer, he quietly began to rattle off a list of ideas of what to tell "the bosses." Eventually, a female voice answered.

"Mr. Bergeron is busy right now. Can I take a message?"

"Tell him that it's Laird about Wong and Stajan," he answered, feeling his pulse rate quicken slightly.

He was placed on hold. After a minute or so of "A Summer Place," a harsh voice barked over the line. "What about them, Laird?"

"Someone already was onto Wong by the time she arrived in the States. After giving Stajan orders to eliminate her and bring us the sample, he went code yellow," he answered after mustering up a little more courage.

"What the hell do you mean that he went code yellow!" Bergeron screamed at the other end.

In all of his years working for the Organization and its counterparts, Laird never had to report a code yellow. "Stajan has the sample and we don't have a location. Apparently, he thought he was hired to protect the woman and not the package. He's given us the middle finger, Jack."

"Damn it, Gerald!" After a lengthy pause, Bergeron's voice, now a whisper, commanded Laird. "Get that sample. If you don't, we'll use you as a test subject."

"Right away, sir."

"Oh, and hear me well on this point. You don't want to be used as a test subject."

Head of Security Gerald P. Laird had heard rumors about what type of research that the Organization was doing. He knew of the bio-organic weapons and biological warfare projects. But he also knew that there were things worse than that going on. Those thoughts sent a cold shiver straight up his spine.


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Medford Lakes, NJ August 24th, 2004 at 3:35 am EST

Lucas set the cell phone down onto the front dash, planning on what to do next. He knew he needed to get some sleep soon, but there wouldn't be time for it. Lifting his hands to his face, he rubbed under his eyes and then ran his hands down his cheeks. _Too many things and not enough time._ Silence filled the automobile.

"Thank you."

Lucas glanced over at Ada, who had been watching him during the entire conversation. He tried to think of something to say, but too many other things were running through his mind; things like: "where do we go from here?" and "why did you do that?" and "how much time do we have?" and thoughts of that night in Raccoon City. He didn't have answers to many of the questions that he posed to himself. Seeing Ada again began to bring up past emotions and memories; some that were best left buried.

"I was hired for protection, not murder." She felt that there was more to it than that, but now wasn't the time. "Ada, I don't know how much time we have. We need to get done what needs to be done here and go. Not only will those people back in New York come for us, but so will the Organization's men."

He stepped out of the vehicle and popped open the trunk. Ada quickly followed him, still feeling the urge to go further, to explain. After grabbing the bags, he nodded in the direction of the house. She shut the trunk and took the keys from Lucas. _Hmm; it's beautiful here_, Ada noted as they approached the front doors of the cabin. It looked to have been made years ago, but has seen recent renovations. Windows spanned around the perimeter of the house. The cabin looked to be two stories tall, or at least one story with an attic. A set of pine wood steps led up to the front door and also to a porch that surrounded the cabin. _New laid wood_, Ada surmised.

"I've put some money into this property," Lucas commented. "New porch, new lights, a new door, etc."

Ada also saw that a brand new grill was sitting next to an outdoor patio set; one of the new gas powered ones. Everything seemed so new, which seemed a little odd. Reading her expression, Lucas responded. "I didn't expect to be working again so quickly. I figured that I would take some time for myself. Sometimes you just want to be…isolated. But, the Organization came along and my plans changed just as quickly." As they made their way up the steps to the door, Lucas added a final comment. "And it looks like I won't be able to enjoy this place, after all."

_The story of my life_, Ada joked to herself. "How much time do you think we have here?"

Lucas considered the question as they made their way towards the cabin's front doors. "From here to DC is about two and a half hours by car, so a chopper seems more likely. That'll mean that we can expect to see the Organization in maybe an hour, hour and a half. The mercenaries from New York are less predictable. Especially with that woman in the BMW."

After thinking for a moment, Ada remembered seeing the woman in the black Z4 as Lucas and she made their escape. She figured that the mystery woman worked for Wesker. _And most of my hunches are right._ She asked Lucas what he thought.

"My guess is that she works for Wesker," he answered. "Exactly what you thought. So, she's the wildcard in this. If she works for him and the mercenaries were hired by him, than more than likely she is involved with the mercenaries somehow. I'm guessing that she got a good look at the both of us, which means that they probably know that I have a house here. Which means…"

"…that they're already headed this way," Ada finished the sentence before Lucas could.

"Right. Which means, I'll say an hour or so." Lucas laughed after thinking about it a moment. "Which means, that if our luck is terrible, we could get caught in between the Organization and Wesker's men."

The idea didn't sit well in Ada's mind at all. "By all means, then; let's get in and out before our luck runs out."

As Lucas nodded in agreement, Ada started flipping through all of the keys on the pewter keychain. After picking one of the keys, she pulled open the screen door and tried it in the newly-installed brass deadbolt. _A perfect fit._

"You're as good as everyone said." _And as good as I remembered._

"Well, it seems that the Organization hired and lost some of the best," Ada replied. _A compliment for you as much as myself._ When Lucas smiled, she couldn't help but smile, too. There was something else behind his eyes, though; something he hoped that she didn't see: pain.

As they walked into the cabin, Ada glanced around. It seemed completely furnished, but there was something lacking. It lacked…

_A personal touch._

"Did you just move here?" Ada asked, wanting to satisfy her curiosity.

Lucas nodded as he moved into the living room. He gently set the two duffel bags onto a couch by the walkway and then flipped on a set of lights, bathing the room in a soft white light. Around the living room were movie posters, the only personal additions that he made to the room. Ada read the title of each one to herself as she scanned the room: _Equilibrium, The Phantom of the Opera, _and a movie that she never heard of, _La Femme Nikita_. Ada watched as Lucas pulled sets of ruby-red colored drapes over the windows. The wooden floor was nearly unscratched, except for a small nick near the couch. Lucas started moving towards the kitchen; Ada followed.

"I figure that we both need to eat something. I know that I haven't eaten since yesterday morning. I've only some roast beef from a few nights ago, so hopefully that's alright. There might even be a few cereal bars somewhere. Other than that…" Ada nodded in agreement, not even remembering the last time she had something to eat.

"There's a road that's just through the forest outback. Eventually, I'm going to go park my other car on the side of that road so that if we need to run, we can get to it." As he opened a set of wall-length blinds that hid a sliding glass door, Ada could see the forest that he was talking about. She saw only a single path leading through it, meaning that if anyone followed, they would know.

"I can see why you chose this place, Lucas." After seeing a confused look on Lucas' face, she asked why.

"I just figured that you'd be more of the city type."

"I would make an exception for a place like this." _Especially this house_. "It's been kept up well. Everything's in its place and organized." _Unlike that Spanish pueblo. _

"I just have one more question," Ada stated, running her hand through her hair.

"Just one?" Lucas asked, half joking and half serious as he closed the blinds, hiding the forest and the coming morning behind them.

"Where's the shower?"

_Author's Notes:_

Thank you all for reading this much of my fan fiction! I have to admit that this is starting to get away from me. The more that I write what I have in my mind, the longer I can see it becoming. This is in no way going to be a small endeavor, or end anytime soon. Even with college, I keep coming back to this story. If this is how Stephen King felt when he wrote the Dark Tower series, I can empathize.

Thank all of you who write comments for my story! It's nice to know that people continue to check in on it…I've had a few questions on whether Leon is going to be in this story…As of right now, I haven't decided…I don't really see it happening, but if I do, I probably will have him in. We'll all just have to wait and see…

I'd just like to make a quick comment about the content of the story…I realize that as of right now, it doesn't have a lot of "Resident Evil" in it (zombies, monsters, horror, etc)…But fear not, because when the time comes, there will be plenty of Resident Evil…Trust me…I have a big, long scene in mind; I mean long! So read on! And don't worry; I will make sure to update as frequently as I can!


	18. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 3:45 am EST

Ada closed her eyes as the hot water ran down her body. With muscles that were sore only moments ago relaxing themselves, she pictured herself in heaven. _Or as close to it as I can_. Dirt, dried blood, and other souvenirs from Span flowed down into the drain along with the warm water. _Definitely not a place I'd visit again_. _If only this water could wash away my problems, too_. She stood in the shower for a few more minutes enjoying the feeling of the water beating against her. Her mind wandered, taking the time to go over what had happened during her last mission.

_"So, It's true…you, working with Wesker." Of all of the possible things to say, the first thing he chose to say was nothing more than an accusation. He changed so much compared to Raccoon City. _She laughed softly to herself. _He became just like that womanizer, Luis. Leering and staring at me. My goodness, did he realize how much he was acting like a sex-crazed college student? And making his voice huskier around me…_hmpf. Not wanting to, but deciding it best, Ada pushed the shower stall's crystal handle towards the wall, ending the warm jetting stream against her.

Stepping out of the steamed glass stall, she reached for the push white towel that was sitting on the sink. The black and grey marble design made the bathroom seem out of place, considering that it was in a cabin in the town of Medford Lakes, New Jersey.

_We might have had a chance together. Before Spain._

She started to towel herself off, stopping for a moment as she passed the faint scar on her abdomen. Her mind took her back to Raccoon City, right before her near fatal fall.

Leon was holding onto her hand, trying not to let her go. _The rookie cop, trying to save the world_. "No, I promised you we would escape," he had said.

"I, really wanted to escape…escape from everything. I…"

The grip loosened, and as she fell, she heard him calling her name from above.

"I'm just a woman who fell in love with you. Nothing more."

_At that point, I loved him. His courage, honesty, determination…_

Ada unknowingly began tracing her scar gently with her fingers; the scar that was the result of Raccoon City.

_But time changes people._

As she continued to dry her tanned skin, she looked at her right thigh, where a Ganado had sliced her with a rusty axe. _Lucky I woke up in time_. Instead of striking her in the chest, it only nicked her thigh. The area was healing quickly, almost as though the attempted "sacrifice" was a week ago instead of a mere two days. She reached for her clothes, which she had folded and stacked in a pile next to where the towel had been. On top of the clothes rested her secondary handgun: a Smith and Wesson '357.

_Time changes people._

The phrase had nested in her mind. _Lucas seems to have changed, too, _she thought as she started to dress. _Understandably, though. That kind of traumatic event would change anybody. Losing an entire family…That would have killed most people. By the looks of it, though, it devastated him. He probably hasn't been in a lasting relationship since._

_Kind of like yourself_.

She let this thought set in her mind as she adjusted her dark black hair. A few strands rested gently across her forehead, never staying where they belonged. After strapping the revolver to her right ankle, Ada looked into the eyes of her reflection, expecting it to answer life's tough questions. She knew that now was one of the worst times to begin having thoughts of this nature, but sometimes it couldn't be helped.

_Six years_. _Six years is a long time_.

Pulling open the bathroom door, Ada headed towards the kitchen. Roast beef at three, four in the morning didn't sound appetizing, so she went for one of the cereal bars. The box was conveniently set out on the grey granite countertops. She grabbed two: one for now, another for later. Noticing that nearly thirty minutes had passed by, Ada decided now would be a good time to know how Lucas' work was coming along. She called out Lucas' name a few times while moving through the house. Glancing out the front windows didn't tell her anything that she didn't know already: that he wasn't here or that he wasn't in earshot. Then, her heart skipped a beat when she looked at the couch under the _La Femme Nikita_ poster.

The black duffel bags were gone.

The master plaga sample was gone.

And Lucas Stajan was nowhere to be found.


	19. Chapter 17

Chapter 18: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 3:50 am EST

Ada's first instinct was to go for her gun. Of course, she had placed Blacktail in the second black duffel bag when they left New York City. However, she still had her small revolver in her ankle holster. She knelt down and quickly pulled it out, not knowing what was going on now. The barrel of the gun shone and glistened in the light of the room, nearly acting as a mirror. She had put her faith in a man that she had met for the second time a few hours ago; the first time was for nearly fifteen minutes six years ago. For a moment, she thought that she had misplaced her trust.

_You don't get the wrong impressions of people, Ada. It hasn't happened yet._

_But there's a first time for everything. _

_He didn't tell his boss where he was when he had the chance, did he?_

_Maybe he did that for your benefit. Make you think that he was on your side and when the chance came along, take the sample and run._

_That doesn't make sense._

_But of course it does. That's the game you play. That's your profession._

_Sounds like the ranting of a guilty conscience._

Her mind continued its conflict with itself as she made her way through the house again, remembering that she hadn't checked upstairs yet. On the outside, she looked as calm as a summer breeze. On the inside, however, the picture was much more chaotic: a hurricane tearing its way towards the coastline. She held her gun and arms perpendicular to the floor, making her way towards the staircase that would lead her upstairs.

_What in the world are you nervous about? The fact that you might have lost the sample? Or is it that you are the one that has been betrayed instead of you being the betrayer? Or that you're afraid of being alone?_

_Where did that come from?_

At the top of the staircase, a hallway led to four rooms: two on the left, one on the right, and a final door at the end of the hallway. Ada quickly checked the two doors on the left, finding nothing out of the ordinary. She shifted her weight to her right foot and pivoted over to the other side of the hall. She peered into the doorway on the right.

_Nothing; again._

A sound came from the room at the end of the hallway: a repetitive clicking noise. Ada grasped the brass door knob and slowly twisted it, trying to make as little noise as possible. Pushing open the door with one hand and holding her revolver in front of her with the other, she slowly stepped into the room. The door creaked softly, making Ada wince. Scanning the room, Ada noticed a king-sized bed and a large antique desk that faced an open window.

_Lucas._

Lucas was sitting at the desk with his back towards the door. He was working intently on something in front of him. _Click. Click._ After trying to see what he was working on, with no success, Ada slowly leveled the revolver down at him. _Please don't make me use this, Lucas. _The SEAL stopped what he was doing as if he wasn't aware of her presence. However, he swiveled around quickly in his chair, aiming one of his Berettas at her.

"Why are you sneaking around, Ada?"

"Where are they, Lucas?"

"Where's what?"

"The bags with the sample and my equipment. If you didn't know that," she started to say, becoming agitated. She kept the barrel of the revolver aimed at him.

As Lucas stood up, he set down his gun. He moved towards Ada, who tensed up slightly. "You passed them already." Ada took a quick glance at what was setting on the desk and wasn't surprised: empty magazines and boxes of handgun ammunition.

Opening the first door on the right (using the bedroom as the place of comparison), he pointed towards a crimson colored rug. He moved to it and kneeled down, grasping one of the corners. He pulled it back, revealing a trap door. Ada watched him open the cleverly hidden floor door, revealing a large hole. She lowered her fire arm as he pulled out the two bags.

"You thought that I ran off with the sample, didn't you?" he asked without looking up.

Ada didn't respond at first. Seeing the bags helped her heart slow down slightly. She raised a hand up to her brow, rubbing her forehead for a moment. The realization of what she just accused him started to set in.

"Lucas, I'm…"

"Don't be. You wouldn't be as good as you are or who you are if you trusted everyone so easily," Lucas said as he closed the hatch. "I just figured that it would be better to have them hidden, instead of in plain sight."

Ada zipped open one of the bags and peeked inside. Seeing that it was the one with her equipment, she reached inside. Lucas, remembering that time was running out, started to head back towards the other room. Ada lifted the bags and followed him to his room.

"I moved the other vehicle to where I told you about before; a '97 green Taurus. It blends in well with the forest, so we shouldn't have to worry about it not being there. I also took the footpath back to make sure that there was nothing wrong with our escape route." He looked down at Ada's stilettos and shook his head. "Those aren't going to work. The path is still muddy from the rain a few days ago."

_Just my luck_.

Lucas headed over to one of the other rooms for a moment. When he came back, he was holding a pair of slightly used hiking boots. "These used to be Therra's," he explained to her. "She used these maybe twice before…" He could feel his body begin to betray him, his mind bringing back memories of his deceased wife. His throat began to tighten as his hands began to shake slightly. More than that, he felt his begin to burn and lose focus.

_Please, not now._

Ada reached for the black boots with her right hand while resting her left on his shoulder. She remembered how he looked when the two of them passed the Stajan residence six years ago. The look on his face then was the same one was now. A look of total devastation.

_You've never talked to anyone about this, have you? You're past haunts you every night, every time you look in the mirror, doesn't it? _

Lucas let his head sink slightly, hiding his eyes from her. When he raised his head back up a few seconds later, the sadness was gone from his eyes.

_The sadness is still there, _Ada realized. _It will always be there._

Both of them carried painful, daunting pasts. Ada knew this for sure and Lucas felt this, too. However, pasts have a habit of coming back to haunt people, especially those who never let the past be the past.

The room in which Lucas and Ada were in looked like a common bedroom with the standard furniture: a bed, dresser, bookcase, and desk. Of course, looks can be deceiving. Ada has seen this time and time again in her career as a spy.

_But this puts those other times to shame_.

Lucas made his way around the room, uncovering weapons and ammunition from what seemed like air. Flipping over the mattress revealed a semi-automatic rifle and a few other automatic weapons. Books on the bookcase hid grenades of all sorts and ammunition. Another floor compartment, hidden under the desk, contained more ammunition. Each dresser drawer held a few pistols, handguns, and other small weapons underneath a few stacks of clothes. The entire surface of the desk was covered with magazines, boxes of ammunition, and cleaning supplies.

"Next, you're going to say that you have something hidden in the bathroom."

Lucas' response nearly surprised her, until she realized she was dealing with someone very similar to herself. _Always likes to be prepared._

"That reminds me. I have a Smith and Wesson '38 taped underneath the toilet tank lid." He answered nonchalantly. Looking up at Ada, he gave her a small smile. "Seriously though. I'll need that one."


	20. Chapter 18

Chapter 19: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 3:35 am

It just looked like something that happens all the time: a car broken down by the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck. The driver had turned on the car's four way flashers, making the black car somewhat visible to any passers-by, just in case there were any passers-by. No one stopped, let alone had driven past the stranded motorist. Not that they would've accepted help.

"If they don't get here in the next five minutes, Albert, I'm going without them."

Jae was talking with Wesker again about the upcoming assault. Apparently, he only had two rules: get the sample and make sure that neither Lucas or Ada escaped.

"Besides, they're only going to slow me down." Jae continued. "And they annoy me. A lot."

Wesker laughed on the other end, getting a not-so nice response from his Observer.

"I'm sorry; is there something funny?"

"Hmm."

Wesker was watching Jae with the help of the live video feed provided by her PDA system. He could tell that she was getting aggravated. "Do you realize that you sound like a petulant child?"

Laugher, not anger, was the next emotion witnessed by the Observer's boss.

"You enjoy getting me riled up, don't you, Albie?"

Now it was Wesker's turn to become riled. "You know how I respond to that name, Jae." He began tapping the arm of his chair in irritation.

"Of course, ALBERT." Another smile. "But you know you wouldn't want it any other way."

"That's why I chose you."

"That doesn't change the fact that those mercenaries are going to…wait a second," Jae said, her voice trailing off.

A white van pulled up behind the black BMW, its headlights blinking on and off a few times. Jae looked down at her watch, checking the time. _Just in time._

"What is it?" questioned Wesker.

"The mercenary bastards," she answered tersely.

"Play nice."

"Is that an order, Albert?"

After a momentary pause, Wesker's answer came in: a straight face.

"Alright, alright." Another brief pause. "I get paid extra, though."

Jae looked into the rearview mirror and saw two of the mercenaries approaching. One of the men was the driver, and the other one she identified as the second-in-command. The latter made a gesture to roll down the window, which Jae did. Resting an arm against the frame of the door, Pistov leaned his head down.

"Did you need help with your vehicle?" he asked. The men had taken off their vests and masks, as not to draw any unwanted attention.

"Its 3:30 in the morning, still dark and we're the only ones here. You can drop the act."

This struck a nerve with the former Spetsnaz agent. "Fine. Out of curiosity, what is your role in all of this?"

"Doesn't matter; not that you expected an answer, anyway. Go back and tell Davis that it's a five minute drive following this road. Be ready by the time we get there, because as soon as I get there, I'm going. We have to catch them both off guard if we're going to get both of them."

"Them?" Pistov asked rhetorically. "So, there were more people there. Evgeni couldn't remember, since he was attacked from behind. Do you know who the others are?"

"The other person. Singular."

"But do you…"

"Lucas Stajan; a retired Navy SEAL."

Pistov laughed lightly. "You're frightened of a single man?"

"He was a part of Navy SEAL team 13, Pissed-Off."

"Its 'Pistov,'" he corrected.

"Wasn't team 13 the one that was known as Phoenix?" Parker asked from the background.

"Sounds like your friend back there knows some stuff you don't. Better have him fill you in, Pissed-Off." As Pistov was about to correct her a second time, Jae cut him off. "We're wasting time." She began to roll up the window, forcing the Russian agent to move his arm out of the way.

On their way back to the van, it suddenly hit Pistov who she was referring to when she said Phoenix. "No wonder."

Once the two mercenaries got back to the van, Jae pulled out onto the road and the mercs followed. Davis didn't bother about asking for directions on where they were going since Sullivan already knew. He was more interested in other details.

"What did Wesker's little lady tell you back there, Vi?"

Viacheslav leaned forward in his seat while he talked, making sure that everything was heard. Davis was in the front passenger seat, with the others filling out the rest of the seating.

"First of all, she said that it's going to be only about five minutes until we get there. So, we should be ready by then."

Hearing the mention of the five minutes made all of the well-trained mercenaries with free hands start to put their Kevlar and check their equipment.

"What else?"

"It's confirmed that there is another person with the target," the Russian continued.

"Just one?"

Pistov took a moment to take a deep breath before going more in depth. "He's been identified, John."

Davis became slightly worried at the use of his first name. Only his second in command used it, and usually before very bad news. "Spit it out. Who is he? Government?"

_Wouldn't that be a pain in the ass._

"Worse. He's a former Navy SEAL, sir."

Just when Davis thought that the news wasn't too terrible, Sullivan interjected with the rest of it.

"He's a Phoenix, boss."

"Damn it to Hell!"

Each of the mercenaries reacted in their own way to the mention of the Phoenix. Some cursed, some just sighed. All except for Koralenko.

"Is it that bad? Just what is Phoenix, anyway?"

Pistov, while tightening his armor, turned around to face the youngest member. "Evgeni, the phoenix is a mythological bird that, when it was going to die, would set fire to itself and, how do you say in English, is reborn." He could still the see the confused look in the younger Russian's eyes. That's when Sullivan chimed in.

"The US Navy SEALs are considered one of the most elite military units in the US military and possibly the world. The SAS, KGB and your Spetsnaz look clumsy in comparison at times. These were the men that the US would send into combat when a situation would turn to shit. They'll burn ya quick, Koralenko. And quick."

"They haven't faced us, Parker," Ortiz commented from the back.

"Quiet back there! The rookie needs to hear this. You might know it, but he doesn't," admonished Davis.

Koralenko wasn't really a rookie anymore. But, since he was the youngest, the name stuck to him quickly.

"Most recently, the US deployed SEAL team Phoenix to do some clean-up in Baghdad and the surrounding cities. They attack quickly, efficiently, and quietly. Earlier, they were sent into the Persian Gulf and Chechnya, although unofficially. There was a threat of using a nuclear explosive on the Motherland," Pistov continued. "The Americans didn't want the Russians to get the nuclear bomb themselves, just in case of another Cold War. However, they couldn't allow the Chechens, the terrorist scum, to have it either."

"But nothing to worry about, Young One," Pistov finished. "It is still five, six if you include her," while pointing towards the BMW. "…against two people who will be caught off guard. These are incredible odds, even for a SEAL and a spy."

"Sí, y estamos tener mas fusiles que ellos."

Jae abruptly turned left onto a well-hidden side road.

"It won't be long, now."

"A butterfly and a phoenix," mumbled Davis.

"Sir?"

Davis turned towards the driver, who had apparently heard him.

"A phoenix and a butterfly, Sullivan."

Sullivan kept driving, but was none-the-less confused.

"Both have wings," HUNK began to explain. He adjusted the stock of his custom tactical machine pistol, making sure that it rested comfortably against his shoulder. "Meaning that by using their very own strategies against them, which is, of course, is surprise…" he continued on as he slid an ammunition magazine into the weapon. "…we clip of their wings." The cartridge snapped into place with a harsh click.

A smile spread across Sullivan's chapped lips. The idea of Ada not getting away made the brother of the deceased Robert Sullivan very happy indeed.

"She's pulling over," Sullivan said as he veered the white non-descript van off of the road. _If you could even call it a road._

The men could see a little bit of the landscape, with the help of the eerily soft glow of the moon. The dense forest eventually opened up into a large clearing, in which the cabin, and the targets it contained, sat. _Not much else out there that could provide cover_, Davis and the other mercenaries noted. A few of the lights were on in the cabin, shedding a little bit more light onto the surrounding landscape. The men started to leave the confines of the van, taking extra care not to make any sudden noises.

The Observer stepped out of her nearly hidden black vehicle. Opening the trunk, she leaned in and opened a locked case. Taking the contents from it, the mercenaries who were close enough to her soon realized what its contents were: a 45 caliber magnum and ammo.

"She isn't here to fool around, is she?" muttered Koralenko, the statement thick with his Russian accent.

Many of them came to a similar conclusion about the Observer: she wasn't just there to observe as her title suggested.

"We can use the trees for cover. That way, we can close the gap between us and them more before they realize that we're here," Davis suggested. When he suggested something to his men, they always took it as an order. "And by then, it's too late."

Everyone, including Jae, moved into the dense trees, becoming shadows themselves. It would take them about a minute to get from their current position to the clearing, and from there about ten, fifteen seconds to the house. The men used the same formation as they did at Battery Park: Ortiz as point, followed by Sullivan and Davis. Koralenko and Pistov covered the rear. Jae moved with them for the most part, keeping a few paces to the main nucleuses' left. As less and less foliage stood between the cabin and the approaching hit men, a thought kept repeating in Parker Sullivan's mind.

_I'll do more than clip their wings off…I'll rip 'em off…_

_For starters…_


	21. Chapter 19

Chapter 20: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 3:40 am

The entire room looked similar to the one Frank Castle might've kept: an armory first, bedroom second. All of the weapons were collected and assembled, the appropriate ammunition set beside each weapon. Grenades were backed into a regular backpack style bag carefully so that the pins wouldn't fall out or pulled accidentally. The plaga sample was transferred from the large duffel bag into a smaller, more compact one, which would make it easier to transport.

Ada reached once again into the second of her two duffel bags and pulled out her black leather docker's clutch, sliding her arms through the holes made by the straps. She reached back down into the bag and pulled out not one, but two Blacktail 9mm, placing them into the dual gun shoulder holster. She readjusted the straps of it, keeping the docker's clutch close enough to her body for easy accessibility, but not too tight as to cut off any range of motion or circulation. After she was satisfied with the tightness, she strapped on another belt of sorts: one that held explosives. _A few of these_, she thought as she grabbed a few of the incendiary grenades from the wooden case that sat on the mattress, _and I'm set._

Lucas was in the restroom downstairs, working on getting his .38 from the tank. After spending a few minutes on getting the adhesive gunk out from the grooves of the grip, he made his way up the stairs and turned into the first room on the left. He made his way over to the closet and opened it up. The first thing that caught his eye was his old military service uniform; the one of the United States Navy. Beside that was his SEALs uniform, which was pretty much camouflaged fatigues. The motto of the SEALs came to Lucas' mind. _The only easy day was yesterday. Hmm, isn't that the truth._

He reached to the right of the uniforms, grabbing instead a pair of dark blue denim jeans and a faded grey tee-shirt. He knew that he had to change, because it would be known to the Organization's men what he was last wearing, considering that it was standard dress procedure. The mercenaries, on the other hand, might not have. _But if that woman was working with them, they would know. She got a very clear look_. He began to switch his clothing.

Ada started to wonder what was keeping Lucas, so she started to look for him. Hearing motion in the close vicinity, she systematically checked the upstairs' rooms first. As she came to the final room before the steps leading down, she found in. He had already changed into his jeans, but hadn't finished with his shirt. She scanned his body and quickly apologized.

"It's alright," he said as he started to slide an arm into the faded shirt. Then she noticed a tattoo on his upper right arm.

_What is that?_

She stepped forward, holding his arms still so that she could get a better look. Amongst all of the faded-white scars was the shape of a bird, its wings spread out in glory. Across the midsection of the creature was a banner that read "SEAL 13: Until It Is Finished." Underneath of the bird was a fire, which looked as though its purpose was to set the bird ablaze.

"A phoenix."

Lucas nodded his head as Ada looked up into his eyes. Ada's hand stayed on Lucas' arm. This small amount of contact was the closest connection that Lucas has had with a woman ever since his family's death. It wasn't for the lack of interest, but for the fear of loss that he didn't allow anyone to get this close again. Part of him didn't want this kind of vulnerability, but the feeling of her touch…

Ada's mouth began to form a word as if to ask a question, but Lucas stopped her. "Later."

"That's your response for a lot of things."

"I know," he answered softly as he pulled the shirt on the rest of the way. He then reached for an equipment belt that was resting on a wooden chair. Looking down, he noticed that the woman he was protecting had put on his deceased wife's old hiking boots.

"Looks like the shoes fit."

Glancing down at the hiking boots on her feet, she responded. "Yes. They're a perfect fit."

"Glad to hear it." He turned around to leave the room. "And they look pretty good, too."

Lucas made his way back to the master bedroom, checking each of the other rooms instinctively for anything out of place. Entering the bedroom, he reached for a pair of Mark 23's and placed them into their holsters. He then began to pack up the rest of the weapons that he was taking, making sure that they weren't loaded.

"Interesting choice."

"About what?"

"I just found it interesting that you're taking handguns other than the Berettas, that's all. Mark 23's, right?"

Lucas nodded as he tossed the two Berettas that he had taken with him to Battery Park into a bag with extra ammunition. "The Berettas were Organization issue. Since I was on the clock, I had to use their weaponry. Besides, I think that I'm officially fired, now."

"Me too," Ada added as she glanced towards the steel digital clock on the wall over the bed.

_3:43; nearly time to go._

"Almost done there, Lucas? It's 3:43," she asked, moving towards the window. A flock of yellow eastern goldfinches suddenly flew out from the trees to the right of the window, catching her attention. She looked closer and noticed that some of the tree branches were bending towards the cabin at spots.

_Wait…_

The first of a group of people came from the trees. As they emerged, she turned around to tell Lucas. "Lucas!" she called out in a quiet but firm tone.

Lucas turned around and moved over to the window and looked out. Seeing the mercenaries and the Observer made him start to move a lot faster. He and Ada started grabbing the bags of equipment. Ada turned around to glance out of the window and check on the advancing people's position.

"Come…"

Lucas didn't have time to finish. It registered in his mind that there was a red dot on Ada's chest, near her heart. She looked down at it also. He lunged across the room, pulling her down to the wooden floor as the glass window shattered around them.

Author's Notes

I'd just like to apologize for the amount of time that it's taking to get new chapters posted...Lately, I've had quite a few exams at college and some other things going on, but the story isn't going to end until I'm finished with it (meaning that I won't just drop it and leave you all hanging). Thanks for reading and check back for more updates!


	22. Chapter 20

Chapter 21: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 3:43 am

Davis brought his hand down quickly down onto the barrel of the AK-103 that was in the hands of Ortiz. "What the hell was that, Ramon?"

"I thought I had a shot, jefé," he tried to explain.

"And if you missed, you just warned them both. Not only that, we're pissing away time right now!" He took his hand off of the Venezuelan's gun.

Looking around for him men to make sure no one else tried anything that he deemed as 'heroic,' Davis soon realized that Jae was slowly stalking towards the cabin.

"Now she's already halfway there!"

Sullivan kept his eye on the window, waiting to see if anyone would appear. He knew that his HK-5 didn't have the range to take a shot here, but in close-quarters combat…

The mercenaries began to move towards the Observer, who had already gotten half way to the structure. Jae continued her walk towards the cabin, uninterested in what was happening behind her. However, a smile made its way across her lips.

She knew that she was going ahead of them.

She knew that she'd have first crack.

_I just hope that they're both still alive._

Up in the bedroom, Lucas began to slowly get off of Ada, looking her over for gunshots. _Please, not her, too_. When he put pressure on his left arm to get up, he let out a grunt of pain. Looking down at his arm, he saw a small stream of blood trickling from it. He then saw the tear that the bullet made in the grey sleeve. _Only a graze. Thank you, Lord._

Ada then started shuffling under him, working on getting her breath back.

"You're alright," Lucas said.

She only nodded as she checked for herself.

"I wouldn't have moved fast enough, so thank you. As soon as I realized that I was targeted, you came and knocked me away. The impact winded me a little bit, but I'm fine." She began to sit up, looking towards Lucas. She was trying to shake off her newly-acquired headache. "Lucas!"

"It's nothing."

"Looks more than nothing, Lucas."

"We'll worry about it later, ok?"

He reached towards a pile of clothes that was on the floor by the bed. Grabbing a couple of white tube socks and a black leather belt, he started to try to cover up the wound himself. Ada quickly took the belt from him. After getting a somewhat irritated look on his face, Lucas held the now pinkish colored tube socks to his upper arm.

"You need to ask for help more." Lucas made a snort at Ada's comment. "Besides, I thought that Navy SEALs were supposed to be great at dodging bullets," she joked.

"Yeah, real funny." He was going to say something else, but was interrupted by Ada's tightening of the belt. He gritted his teeth, trying to suppress any type of pain response. "I've been hurt worse in high school."

Both laughed a little; partly because of the comment and partly because they knew that the mercenaries were getting closer.

"We'll have to do this smart, Ada. It's six on two, so we'll have to use the angles of the cabin. We've got flash bangs here, which will be the saving grace of us."

Lucas got his feet under him and glanced quickly out the window. He ducked back down quickly and turned to Ada.

"The woman is closest, maybe ten feet away. The others are maybe twenty-five, at the most. Meaning that we have…"

Lucas was interrupted by a large pounding at the front door. He turned to Ada and finished his thought.

"…no time."

Ada strapped the bag with the master plaga sample onto her back while Lucas slid the strap of his bag around his neck. He knew that he would have pain from the gunshot wound, but now wasn't the time to worry about it. His mind started to focus less on that and more on his mission: getting the woman and the sample away from here. His health and condition was secondary.

Another pound at the door, followed by the sound of shattering wood. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the first floor. First it was only a solitary set. However, the first set was quickly joined by others. Lucas let out a soft, quiet sigh. Ada did the same.

"What?"

Lucas' curious look caught the attention of the brunette in front of him.

"No hidden staircase?"

Ada pulled back on the slide of the Blacktail back, placing a 9mm bullet into the breach of the weapon.

_Just in case his plan doesn't work_.

After two kicks from the heavy boots on her feet, Jae finally got the door kicked in. Splinters of pine spewed across the entrance hallway. The mercenaries finally caught up to her a few moments later. Ortiz and Koralenko moved to the left side of the door, while Davis and Sullivan took the right. Pistov silently moved around the cabin's perimeter, looking for another entrance point. _Or escape route_. Koralenko moved towards the doorway, his shotgun held parallel to the ground. After Davis' signal, the other three men filed in behind him, moving on the balls of their feet.

The entranceway was relatively narrow, forcing the mercenaries to move in a single file line. Jae was already ahead of Koralenko, stepping quietly into the living room. Holding her .45 loosely in her hands, she walked into the room seemingly fearless. Her eyes glanced over the movie posters around the room. _Good taste. Too bad, though_.

Koralenko and Ortiz moved into the living room while Sullivan covered the doorway. Davis peered around, hoping to either hear or see something that would give away the targets' position. Through the red lenses of his mask, he could tell that they were definitely here. _But you already know that they're here_.

Davis signaled for the two men to stay with a quick downward hand pump. He moved back towards the entranceway and waited for Sullivan to respond. Parker turned towards Davis and shook his head, communicating that no one was outside. He made his way back to the room where Ramon and Evgeni were awaiting orders. After HUNK made a quick fist motion towards his body with his left hand, the two men moved to him, the youngest again taking point.

Pistov, meanwhile, had reached the back of the cabin. He softly stepped onto the first step of an elaborate wooden porch, knowing that one wrong step would cause the supporting wood to creak violently. As long as he was silent, he would be able to make it to the glass door leading to another part of the house. Nothing had caught his attention from his path to his current position thus far, but the dim light from the sky was barely enough for him to see in front of him.

The Russian couldn't hear anything on the other side of the sliding door. Reaching out with a gloved hand, he tugged on the handle. _Locked._ Most of the windows were shut and visibly locked. He decided to loop around the rest of the house. _A little bit of reconnaissance never hurt anyone._

Jae had found her way into the kitchen. She noted the foot that was left on the granite countertop. After taking off her sunglasses for a moment, she rubbed at her eyes. She spun around quickly at the sound of a soft footstep behind her. The magnum in her hand was aimed at the right eye of John Davis. Jae lowered her weapon.

John Davis, or HUNK as many of his employer's referred to his as, never even raised his TMP. He knew that if she had wanted, she would've killed him already. _But she would be dead son after my body hit the ground. _Davis, behind the crimson lenses, started at Jae's cat-like eyes. Her eyes seemed to glow, even in the dense darkness. He had a large height advantage, but he knew not to cross her. She could see his eyes even though they were behind the dense plexi-glass.

And his eyes were wider than normal.

Ortiz stepped past them, looking towards the curtains by the wall. Pulling the curtain aside, he saw the locked glass door that Pistov had just tried to open. After looking closely outside, he could see the Russian walking around stealthily.

"Looks like…" Ramon started to say, but quickly cut himself off.

HUNK turned around sharply, bringing his thumb to the side of his neck, as if to say 'keep talking and I'll shut your mouth for you.' _Dumb ass_. Ortiz shook his head a few times. When Davis turned around, Jae was putting her sunglasses back on. _Thank goodness for small favors._ Davis, having already noticed the stairs, motioned for the Young One to guard the staircase until the rest of the ground floor was secure. He sent Ortiz towards the adjacent dining room as he himself went to search the other small rooms down the hall. Koralenko knelt down at the foot of the staircase, his shotgun raised towards the second floor.

Sullivan kept shifting over at the front door. He wanted to get upstairs and torture Ada Wong for all that she had done. He knew that the time was coming. But for Parker Sullivan, sooner would be better than later._ Much better._

Davis peered into the first of two small rooms, which happened to be the bathroom. The mirror still had a small amount of condensation, droplets of water slipping down the reflective surface. A plush white towel hung on a stainless steel bar beside the shower. _Still damp_, he observed as he grasped it. _Must've been used recently._ A part of him began to try to picture Ada in the shower, but quickly retreated back to the mission and task at hand.

Turning from the bathroom doorway, Davis turned to check and clear the other small room. However, Jae had already done that. She pointed to the door that she just came from and shook her head. Ortiz slid next to Davis and gave him the same signal. HUNK tilted his head towards Koralenko's position, then tapped his chest twice and pointed upstairs. "Both are upstairs; Koralenko has been guarding the area," was what the hand and body motions communicated to the Observer and Venezuelan.

The three of them quietly stepped over to where Evgeni had positioned himself. Davis, again using signals, asked if there had been any motion or sounds from upstairs. After receiving a no from the Russian, Davis prepared himself for the action that was about to occur. _If the two bastards had escaped, Sullivan or Pistov would've already called, or we would've heard gunfire._

Koralenko stood up from his kneeling position to take point again, but Davis put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head. He pointed towards the glass door and Evgeni understood. He quickly, but still quietly, moved to the kitchen area, not letting his disappointment show. _Your time will come soon. Soon, _Davis thought. He himself was going to lead the way this time. As Ortiz was about to take the second position, Jae stepped in his way. Not wanting to piss her off after seeing what he considered "her freakish eyes," he let her go ahead.

As the heavy black rubber on the bottom of HUNK's right combat boot touched the first step, a wide grin formed on his face. It was hidden by the mask, but definitely there.

John Davis knew that the action was about to start.


	23. Chapter 21

Chapter 22: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 3:47 am

Lucas and Ada had been listening to the intruders' movements, hoping for a chance to slip away. However, by the sound of it, the two had deduced that someone was sitting at the foot of the stairs. Not what they were hoping for. At one point, Lucas would've been tempted to say that he didn't know where the other five people were until he heard whispering.

"Kitchen," he whispered to Ada.

Ada nodded, figuring that the kitchen was the likely place that the voice came from. She smiled at the fact that the voice was cut off from finishing, more than likely earning a stern look by his boss. The smile faded quickly after seeing Lucas' bloody left arm. The socks were doing their job, but they would soon become too satiated to be any further use. _Let's just hope that the blood clots soon_.

She shifted to the left side of the doorway to the bedroom, leaving Lucas on the right. They knew that when the opportunity came, they would have to execute the plan quickly. With the current odds, less than perfection wouldn't be good enough. She had faith in herself, of course. Not only did she survive Raccoon City six years ago, but she also escaped from Spain and countless other locations where many other people would've failed. And for some reason, she had faith in the Navy SEAL who was beside her. Not many people could say that about Ada; having her trust. Lucas had survived probably just as many, if not more, dangerous missions. He had to follow rules and orders. _Protocol and rules; those are the only differences between our pasts_. She looked over at the slightly blonde, slightly brunette man across from her. Fearless, chivalrous and loyal. _If only it were another time._ Her mind kept running, not letting her go. There weren't many times that Ada could say that she was genuinely distracted, but this was one of them. _But this will end. What about then?_

_Now isn't the time to think about this._

Lucas was half lying, half sitting on the opposite side of the entrance. In his hand was a flash grenade, ready to be used. The plan was simple…in theory: Lure them up the stairs, use the flash bangs to incapacitate them, run by them and out of the cabin. After getting to the car and getting away, who knew…In a fire fight, Ada and Lucas knew that they might get lucky and kill half of the mercenaries, but at a price.

Both listened carefully for the first signs of the mercenaries; an errant slip on the steps, a quick word between them, anything. So far, all they could hear was a lot of nothing. Ada quietly shifted her weight, her muscles still slightly sore from Spain and from the sleep that she had enjoyed before. Not only that, but Ada was usually more aggressive, going after the enemy and not waiting for them to come to her. But Lucas was used to this tactic. Ada noticed that he hadn't moved since he sat down in his current position. He had taken a shard of reflective glass from a mirror that was shattered by Ortiz's shot and propped it near the doorway. Anyone who would come up the stairs wouldn't be able to see the mirror, but Lucas would definitely see them.

HUNK began to transcend the stairs, going painstakingly slow so that he wouldn't set a foot down wrong and cause their advantage to suddenly cease. His TMP was aimed slightly upwards, just in case one of them was waiting at the top of the stairs to pick them off as they came up. The wooden stairs threatened to creak with every step.

_Where are you two bastards?_

As HUNK made it to the top of the stairs, he noticed a problem that could cripple them: the multitude of doors. If they opened them slowly one by one, then the targets would be able to see the door opening, giving them plenty of time to shoot them. If they breached the door to a room that they weren't in, then the element of surprise would be gone completely. Their position would be given up quicker than you could say "peek-a-boo."

_Four doors, three closed…_

He motioned for Ortiz to take the first door on the left and Jae to cover the one on the right. He took the final door on the left; the one closest to the bedroom. It crossed his mind that Lucas and Ada could be in the open bedroom.

_If that's the case, I'll be a son of a bitch._

The second that Lucas saw HUNK's reflection in the mirror, he knew that everything was about to begin.

_For now, anyway._

He looked across the room at Ada. She was looking right back at him. He made a couple of gestures toward her, which in total meant to wait for his signal. She now had a flash bang ready as well. Both of them had the look and air of calm around them, but they were both far from it. Lucas' thumb rubbed against a groove in the casing of the explosive in his hand.

If everything worked as planned, then they would make it out alive. If the plan didn't work, well, they wouldn't have to worry about the next step after escape. His gaze focused in on the shard, watching patiently. He saw the woman step up after who appeared to be the mercenary leader. After her came a third. Lucas raised first two, then three fingers in front of him. Ada nodded in response.

The SEAL watched the mercenaries as they took their positions in front of the three closed doors. Lucas turned to Ada, smiling at her. She returned the smile, because she knew that everything must be working. Lucas began counting down in his mind to the second when the men in black would kick down the doors as he pulled the pin from the flash bang.

_Five._

_Four._

HUNK's hand was in front of the group, counting down. After the countdown, they would kick down the three closed doors and storm the rooms.

_Three_.

Jae shifted her weight onto the left side of her body, the magnum held downward in front of her. Ortiz tilted his head back, mouthing some words at the same time. Davis' hand clutched the handle of the machine pistol in his right hand, trying to focus even more.

_Two._

The doors in front of each attacker were made of the type of pine that matched the rest of the cabin. Jae had already kicked in the front door. Now, she would get another door to destroy. _Good anger therapy_. Each hoped that Lucas, Ada, or both were in the room that they were about to breach.

_One._

_Embarrass me, will you?_ The thought echoed in Davis' mind.

_Payback's a bitch, Ada. Just like you._

HUNK signaled for the breach as he raised his foot to bring down the door. Jae and Ramon followed suit. All at once, the wooden barriers shattered with a unified, loud thud.


	24. Chapter 22

Chapter 23: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 3:49 am

As soon as Lucas heard the large thud from the hallway, he let the spoon fly off of the M-84 flash bang. He held onto the live grenade momentarily before leaning into the hallway, lobbing it into the air. He quickly turned back around and slammed the door, blocking the effects of the grenade as well as drawing the attention of the mercenaries in the hallway.

"Get ready to run."

Each of the three people that were upstairs turned around instinctively when they heard the bedroom door slam shut. Unlucky for HUNK and Jae, they turned around just in time to watch the casing of what appeared to be a grenade fly past them. Fractions of a second later, the entire second floor was filled with a light as bright as the sun which was followed by an excruciating noise.

Ortiz wasn't as affected by the blast as Jae and Davis. When he had kicked down the door to the room he was to clear, the force from the kick carried him deep into the room. His reaction was also slower when the sound of a door slamming carried through the hallway. He got lucky. The blast, however, really echoed in his head, making it throb painfully.

Sullivan and Koralenko didn't react to the door, but the loud concussive boom. Koralenko turned to the front door, looking at Sullivan for instructions. Sullivan pointed to the staircase and screamed "up," even though it sounded to him like a mere whisper.

Pistov wasn't affected by the flash bang at all since he was outside. However, the entire Stajan property became basked in a white light, followed by a bang. He knew that something was wrong right away. He began to make his way around to the front entrance, trying to get there quickly.

The virus that Wesker had injected his Observer with definitely minimized the damage. Her eyes quickly refocused to the sudden light, which should have blinded her. However, the effects of a grade one concussion began to settle in. She held her head in agony, setting the magnum down on a metal bookcase that was nearby. Closing her eyes, she tried to refocus her mind as soon as possible.

The flash of light seeped into the bedroom from underneath the door, followed by the muffled crack of sound.

"Now!"

Lucas flung the door back open while simultaneously adjusting the bag's strap that hung across his shoulder. The pain in his left arm had faded temporarily, the adrenaline hiding the pain. He held one of his Mark 23's in front of him, ready to fire.

Ada stood up also as she pulled the pin from the flash bang she had and heaved it across the hall and down the stairs. She and Lucas turned away from the door, avoiding the sound of the second explosion. As they heard the stun grenade go off, they quickly made their way into the hallway.

By the time that Sullivan and Koralenko realized what the object that was flying down the staircase at them was, it was too late. The M84 detonated at their feet, knocking them both to the floor in agony. Both felt the full effects of the grenade, giving them serious concussions. Koralenko covered was knocked unconscious. Sullivan cursed repeatedly, not even to hear himself clearly.

Lucas and Ada quickly moved through the hallway to the stairs. Near the top of the staircase was the empty shell of the first grenade. Lucas checked into each room quickly as they passed, making sure not to get cornered or flanked. Jae was kneeling in the one room and Davis was still getting his bearings in the second.

_No problems yet._

However, as Lucas and Ada began to pass the room closest to the stairs, Lucas saw one of the mercenaries spin around towards the doorway. He raised his arms to steady the pistol in his hands towards the intruder, just as the Hispanic looking man raised what appeared to be a version of an AK-47 in his direction. Leveling his weapon, the Navy SEAL pulled the trigger twice, performing a successful double tap. The first bullet pierced Ortiz's forehead between the eyes. The second shot connected just a millimeter or so above the first. A fine mist of crimson floated in the air as the body of the dead Venezuelan slumped lifelessly to the floor. His hand squeezed the trigger of the AK, sending bullets into the air. They flew harmlessly into the wooden floor, not a single one reaching the hall.

Ada waited for Lucas to start down the stairs before moving again. The back pack that held the Plaga sample was strapped tightly to her back, leaving one of her hands open for her Blacktail. The other hand had one of the equipment bags that they had prepared. She descended the stairs behind Lucas, whose left arm was bleeding less. When they reached the main floor, she laughed to herself briefly when she saw Sullivan sprawled on the floor, swearing enough to make even most rap artists blush.

Lucas quickly shook his Mark 23 towards the kitchen as he moved towards it. Both knew that they had passed four of the mercenaries and the woman from Battery Park, which left one of the mercenaries unaccounted for. _More than likely'll come through the front door_.

Ada understood his choice perfectly; there was less of a chance of running into resistance and it was a quicker, more direct path to the vehicle. _Safer in every aspect._ Lucas pulled the drapes aside while holstering his firearm with his other hand. As he undid the locks, Ada naturally covered the main passage to the kitchen. She turned as she heard the glass door slide open, feeling a cool breeze enter the cabin. Lucas pulled his gun back out as Ada stepped onto the porch outside. He followed her closely out, letting the soft cloth drapes hang in front of the door again. Lucas glanced quickly through the door one last time.

_No one yet._

After what seemed an eternity to him, Viacheslav Pistov, former commander in the Russian Spetsnaz, reached the front door. He could hear the swearing from someone inside. He recognized it as Sullivan's. Pistov never liked how much Parker used vulgar language.

"It's undignified," Pistov would tell Sullivan often.

"Well, I don't give a damn if it's undignified."

He stepped inside, making sure that he wasn't walking into an ambush. _To many corners in this place_, he thought to himself as he continued to maneuver his way through the cabin. Pistov, after turning yet another corner, saw Sullivan and Koralenko at the foot of the stairs. He also noticed the casing of the M-84 flash grenade. Koralenko was unconscious, he noted. _Probably a second grade concussion._ He was breathing, though. And breathing is always a good sign.

"Sullivan," Pistov spoke as he knelt down beside the swearing man.

Still blinded somewhat by the grenade, Sillivan saw a figure stooping down on him. He began to reach for his HK, which Pistov kicked away. Parker's eyes focused a little bit and finally discovered that he wasn't looking at one of the assailants, but into the face of the second in command.

"Where did they go, Sullivan?"

Sullivan was still out of it, but was still able to point towards the kitchen. He had caught a glimpse of the bitch and bastard running in that direction before the pain forced him to shut his eyes again. Pistov tapped Sullivan's shoulder before getting back up to his feet, moving smoothly towards the kitchen.

He leaned his back against the wall adjacent to the kitchen, keeping a low profile. Then performing a SWAT turn, he spun from one end of the passageway to the other, scanning the kitchen in the process.

_Empty._

The first that Pistov notices was the temperature difference. The kitchen was slightly cooler than the rest of the house. _Could be nothing._ As he began to move towards the bathroom, a gust of wind blew a few papers from a nearby countertop. Pistov turned quickly, his mind trying to find the location of the noise. His eyes caught the papers on the floor, and then the swaying of the curtains. Moving to them, he pulled the cloth aside and saw the open glass door. He also saw Ada and Lucas running towards the forest.

Pistov followed.


	25. Chapter 23

Chapter 24: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 3:51 am

Lucas and Ada were fortunate; both had on darker clothes and would disappear into the shadows of the dense pine trees the moment they entered the forest. Lucas knew where the pas was, which greatly increased their advantage. The remaining mercenary knew these facts, too.

Pistov stepped loudly onto the elaborate wooden porch outside, stealth no longer a necessity. Their presence was known, and due to the fact that he alone was chasing them, Pistov concluded that the original plan didn't work as planned. Some excess light from the house streamed across the grassy backyard, immediately signaling his presence.

This wasn't missed by either Lucas or Ada. The light form the open curtains cast their shadows ahead of them. Their shadows were sprinting towards the now-visible foot path, and they were chasing their dark silhouettes. Ada turned herself, aiming her firearm to the source of the light. She squeezed the trigger once, twice, three times. Lucas slowed down slightly, not wanted to get too far ahead of her.

As soon as Pistov saw Ada turn around, he quickly shifted to his right towards the corner of the house. Using the corner for cover, he counted the three shots that were fired. The final shot went through the wooden edge of the cabin, exiting about six inches from Pistov's left temple. Peering around the cabin, he saw that they were running again. He also noticed that they were nearly to the edge of the dense trees.

He kneeled behind the railing of the porch, setting his Steyr AUG against it for stability. Although not a Russian weapon, Pistov had experimented with it since coming in contact with John Davis. He liked it well enough to make it his primary weapon.

Looking through the thermal scope that had been attached during the ride to the cabin, Pistov watched Lucas and Ada run further west, their body heat showing him what his naked eye wouldn't be able to. To his dismay, the heat signatures quickly disappeared, covered by the tree branches. He frantically tried to find something to shoot at. Suddenly, the shape of a face appeared in the scope. _Shouldn't have stopped, my friend_. The crosshairs of the AUG soon hovered over to the forehead of who appeared the male target; the SEAL. As Pistov's finger began to pull the trigger, everything became white.

When Lucas heard Ada fire her Blacktail, he knew that the sixth mercenary, well, fifth if you exclude the Observer, finally turned up. He glanced behind him to find where Ada was. He slowed his pace, wanting to keep her close to him.

The curtains from the kitchen feel back to their original places, restricting the light from pouring out any longer. Their shadows quickly blended with the rest of the blackness of the early morning. He reached down to his belt and reached for any time of grenade. Pulling it up close to his eyes, he realized that he had pulled out a TH3 incendiary grenade. He also could tell what it was by the grooves of the case.

_Perfect._

As Ada turned back around, Lucas made a quick "come on" gesture with his arm. As she started to get close to him, the SEAL took a look back towards the cabin. They both began running again towards the path. The moist dew from the grass began to collect on their shoes, threatening to make them slip. Ada thanked Lucas mentally for the hiking boots; her high heels would've been a hindrance in these conditions.

The muddy path became only a few steps away. Lucas, who was right next to the Woman in Red, told her to keep running. She nodded as she ran, still breathing as if she had just started running. Tree branches hung in the path, slowing her down just a bit. The mud sucked her down slightly as the hiking boots made contact with the moist earth. After about fifteen feet, she stopped and turned around, looking for Lucas. He hadn't wanted to leave her side, and she felt the same loyalty to him.

_But you're not loyal._

_Usually._

Lucas knew that he wouldn't have long before the mercenary would get a chance to fire back. He had caught a glimpse of him dodging her shots, although he wasn't sure if any had connected. Too many times there had been uncertainties on missions; every single time, in fact. That's why Lucas had decided to hang up his Navy dress whites and just rest. He had saved enough lives and enough money to be comfortable. He had done his duty to his country. The cabin was given to him and Therra by her parents just after the marriage as a vacation home. But now, all of that seemed to be inconsequential. Lucas gave the AN-M14 in his hand a quick before pulling the pin and tossing it forward.

_Now there's something else for me._

As the incendiary grenade began to fall towards the opening of the pine forest's only path, Lucas had a final thought that comforted him slightly.

_Purpose._

The moment the incendiary grenade landed, the thermate poured onto the lush grass and tree line. The TH3 instantaneously ignited the foliage, lighting the morning sky in a vibrant orange. The thermate compound isn't affected by water, so the moisture from the previous days' rain didn't slow it down. The blaze would protect their escape, ensuring their safety.

Stajan pivoted on his right foot and began to jog his way down the path. His sight caught the glimpse of a figure on the path, so his right hand instinctively went to the handle of the gun at his side. As his eyes focused more closely on the person, he realized that it was Ada. She stepped up to him, the 9mm in her hand hanging down at her side. A part of him was irritated that she didn't keep moving down the path. Another part of his was happy, though.

"Had to set everything on fire?"

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "It got the job done, didn't it?" After she nodded, he spoke again. "Besides, we can slow down our pace a bit." He started following the path, but was stopped when Ada put her hand on his shoulder. He turned around slowly.

"What is it?"

The realization of what just happened began to hit him. He willingly decided to set fire to the forest near his property, meaning that he would probably never be able to go back. The inferno could reach the cabin, destroying it as well. After Raccoon City, it seemed like the perfect place to go. Then, of course, he went back into the SEALs, so there wasn't a need for the cabin for a while. He thought that the SEALs would help him find a purpose again. His wife, late wife, had asked him while she was still alive to settle down; that she was nervous about the danger of what he was doing. So, he agreed to join the local police department in Raccoon City. The fire would destroy nearly every physical reminder of Therra Morgan Stajan and their two children, Alexander and Christina. They had already died once. Now, Lucas felt as though he was killing them again.

"Nothing," she answered, even though they both knew that it was a lie.

She began to follow Lucas when she coughed violently. When she looked down at her hand, her heart skipped a few beats. Crimson blood covered her palm.

"Not now," she whispered.

"What?"

Lucas turned around, having heard Ada's soft comment. The glow of the fire lit Ada's face in the black morning. She wiped her hand onto her jeans, trying to keep the issue hidden.

"Ada, your ears…are the bleeding?

Ada's still bloody hand reached up to her ear. Droplets of the crimson fluid covered her fingers as she pulled them away, holding them up to the light in front of her. Her head began to throb, each beat of her heart sending shockwaves of pain through her body. A convulsion suddenly sent her to her knees.

"Ada! What's going on?"

"Just post concussion syndrome; that's all," she explained. She hoped he would buy it.

He quickly knelt down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Ada quickly smacked his arm away. "Don't touch me, Lucas. Not now."

"It's not a concussion, is it?" Lucas asked. He was hoping for a truthful answer, since he knew that there wasn't a chance that the symptoms she was displaying were from a concussion.

Ada Wong reached into her pockets, struggling to pull out a prescription bottle. Lucas tried to read the label, but there wasn't one to read. "What can I do, Ada?"

"Stop asking questions," she fired back sarcastically.

_Please, don't ask._

"You know that isn't going to happen. Tell me what is going on!" The SEAL lieutenant aspect of Lucas' personality began to take over. He went from fulfilled to depressed to angry quicker than every.

Ada was surprised by his sudden show of force. She never expected Lucas to get this angry or even to keep pushing her on the issue. She had hoped that it this would never come up, but apparently things weren't supposed to work out that way. She managed to twist the top off of the plastic bottle and swallowed two of the capsules.

"There are things that you are better off not…"

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before passing out, her body finally giving in to the pain.


	26. Chapter 24

Chapter 25: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 3:59 am

And now confusion. Lucas stared at the unconscious woman in front of him and then looked down the muddy path. He had at least one hundred feet until he reached the other side of the forest. He couldn't leave her behind and take all of the equipment first because of the fire. For the same reason, he couldn't leave the equipment. The blaze would detonate the ammunition and grenades, creating a very late fireworks show for the Fourth of July.

_Three bags and her to carry with a wounded, bleeding arm…just like the service._

Still kneeling down beside Ada, he worked the small bag from her back which contained the plaga sample and slid it into the other bag that she had been carrying. Fortunately, there was just enough space for the sample to fit inside the large duffel. He put the bag around his neck and slid his hands underneath of her body. _I'm like a damn St. Bernard here…_He started to stand up slowly, making sure that he had a good enough hold on Ada so that he wouldn't drop her. Lucas cradled her shoulders and neck against his right arm, resting her legs on top of his left forearm. His wound started to flare in pain, threatening to reopen and bleed profusely again. He ignored it with trained ease as he started to traverse the muddy path towards the road.

With each step, the bags shifted against his back and forced him to compensate for the extra weight. He could feel Ada breathing, her warm breath brushing softly against his neck. His feet sunk deeply in the mud at first, so he started to hang closer towards the edges of the path. Ada's ears continued to bleed lightly, collecting in the grey shirt that Lucas had on. He knew that he was opening himself up to the possibility of disease, but knew that he didn't have time to find an alternative.

As he neared the car, a sudden jolt of pain shot through Lucas' left arm, from the shoulder joint to the tips of his fingers. He grimaced, gritting his teeth; however, he didn't stop moving. The pain seemed to be getting worse.

_Not a good sign._

A small trickle of blood began to drip from Ada's nose, worrying Lucas even more. The sun was going to rise in a couple of hours, and finding a place to stay for a while was going to be difficult. _Blood seems to have that effect on people; I don't know why_, Lucas joked with himself. _Maybe we'll get lucky._ The woman in his arms wasn't going to make matters any easier, at least in this condition. Trouble seemed to attract more trouble, and the new trouble attracted more. Also, both the Organization and Wesker's men were after them. And Lucas' body was starting to rebel against him.

By the time Lucas made it to the green Taurus, most of Ada's bleeding had stopped. He concluded that the pills that she ingested just before she passed out were to help with this problem. The curious part of him tried to figure out what was wrong with her based on what he saw, but the SEAL in him made him focus on getting away from Medford Lakes ASAP. He stooped down to a grassy patch of forest near the car and set Ada down gently. He unlocked the vehicle and tossed the bags into the back seat. After becoming satisfied that the bags wouldn't roll around, he went back for Ada. He lifted the spy up into his arms and carried her over to the passenger seat. The dome light cast soft shadows against Ada's features. He looked at her face, her eyes still closed tightly.

_She hasn't changed much at all, except for a sense of maturity._

_If only…_

He laid her down into the seat, making an effort not to hurt her any further than she already was. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a white handkerchief. Instead of wiping the blood off of himself, he dabbed away the crimson spots from her ears, neck and upper lip. He then reached across her body and strapped in the seat belt, clicking it into place. Taking a final look towards the forest and the fiery blaze, he hopped into the driver's side of the sedan and turned it on. Lucas pulled out onto the deserted road, knowing that soon he would need to find a place for the two of them to rest.

After about thirty minutes on route 73 South through New Jersey, Lucas pulled off into a cheap looking hotel's parking lot in Cedar Brook. A golden yellow neon sign flashed "vacancy" towards all drivers by against the dark backdrop of the early morning sky. Ada still hadn't woken up, but Lucas could see her breathing. He had a sneaking suspicion that whatever is happening to her now has happened to her before. The pills, secrecy, and avoidance of the issue all fueled his suspicions. Both of their lives were at risk now; secrets weren't going to help anything.

He turned off the headlights of the Taurus before stepping out of the sedan. He took not of the characteristics of the hotel: a single floor, maybe ten different rooms, definitely not kept up well. _But it'll do for now_. There was only one other car besides Lucas' in the parking lot, near the far end of the complex. An office was at the west end of the hotel. A single lamp was still on in the office, lighting up the space.

The storm from a few days before began to start again, at first a drizzle. Medford Lakes had recently been hit with a tremendous rain storm, flooding quite a bit of the area. Lucas remembered the damage that had been done to the cabin which brought an irritated but sad look to his face. Rain came and went ever since, but some of the locals grew quite a fear of any storm that would come in. Soon, the drizzle picked up into a steady pour, covering everything with cool rain water.

Lucas reached into the trunk of the vehicle and pulled out a coarse cobalt blue towel. After letting some of the rain dampen it, he started wiping away some of the dried blood from his forearms. He knew that the gunshot wound would take more time to clean than he was willing to spend at the moment, so he reached for a plastic Wal-Mart bag that he always kept in the back of the car. Emptying the contents, he found what he was looking for: a black long sleeve shirt. The sleeves would hide the wound just long enough.

After closing the trunk closed with a thud, Stajan jogged over to the office. The sudden pour of rain water began to form puddles in the many dips of the paved lot. Rain dripped from the edge of the lips of the roofs. Lucas grabbed the wet bronze door knob, twisted, and pulled open the door.

The office was in a state of disrepair. A rusting metal desk sat in the back corner, coupled with a cheap twenty dollar office chair that was already falling apart. A wooden counter spanned across the entire length of the room, blocking any visitors from stepping in passed it. The once white walls were now any ugly shade of unintentional beige, a result of a lack of maintenance. The linoleum on the entrance side of the office was curling up from its edges, revealing the stark concrete underneath. Spotting a rusted bell sitting on the counter, Lucas dropped his hand down on it once. A sharp shrill filled the room.

A muffled 'what the hell was that?' came from behind a door on the other side of the room. Out of it came a hefty overweight man who looked older than he really was. His hair was short but scraggly, sticking up in every direction. As he approached the counter, he was buttoning a pair of faded stained jeans. He quickly grabbed the bell from the counter angrily, even though it was rung only once.

"The hell do you want, boy?"

"A room," Lucas answered, suppressing a dumb-founded look.

"Well, well. Don't get to many people here." The man looked around the room, glancing for anyone else who might've been there. "This here ain't exactly the Ritz."

_You don't say?_

"How much for a room?"

Scratching his chin, the hotel owner thought for a moment. As he was about to answer, a female voice called from the room that he had come from earlier.

"Stewie, hurry up! My shift is going to start soon and I don't wanna be late again!"

This time a smile did cross the former SEAL's lips.

"If you want a room, then mind your own business." A few more moments of thought passed. Lucas could feel his wallet getting lighter already. "Fifty dollars."

Lucas was tempted to argue the price by bringing up the Super Eight that was down the road, but decided against it. "Alright."

"Wonderful," Stewie replied. His slightly yellow and extremely crooked teeth appeared behind his curling lips. "It is cash only, by the way."

"Not a problem."

"I'll just need to see some ID and we'll get you a key for a room," the owner said as he slid open a desk drawer.

"Are you sure you need ID?"

The grin on Stew's face grew a little bigger. He knew that he would make a killing tonight. "Looking to have some on the side, is that it boy?" After seeing Lucas' perturbed reaction, the pudgy man stopped smiling. "It is policy, but I could make an exception for a generous guest for, let's say, monetary compensation."

Lucas sighed. "How much?" he asked dryly.

"Fifty?" he half asked, half stated.

"Fifty?!" _Now this is getting ridiculous._

"The room isn't my memory, Mr…I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

Lucas started to take the money from the black wallet, hiding the ID from the view of Stew. He was just thankful that he had kept quite a bit of extra cash on hand.

"And how long will you be staying with us, Mr. Jones?" Stewie's eyes grew wide as he saw more and more money come out of the wallet.

"Three nights with absolutely no interruptions. If there are any…"

"Of course, Mr. Jones." The large man grabbed the cash from Lucas' hand before moving back to the drawer. Reaching in, he pulled out a large wooden keychain with the number two etched into it. The key was small in comparison.

Lucas took the key from him. "Glad to hear it."

As he left the office and into the rain, he heard the woman calling for 'Stewie' again. Apparently, he was going to make her late.

After unlocking the room and carrying in the numerous bags, Lucas went back out for Ada. His arm throbbed tremendously since the adrenaline in his body stopped pumping. His clothes were pretty much soaked by the rain. His thoughts were focused on the woman he was protecting. There were so many questions, but he knew that most wouldn't be answered until later. That didn't sit well with him.

He unclipped the seat belt and slowly started to lift her out of the passenger side of the green Taurus. Carrying her as he did back at the cabin, he began to make his way towards the hotel room. He turned her head in towards him so that the rain wouldn't drown her. He also used his right hand to cover her eyes.

Lucas was relieved when he was finally inside. All of the rain the past few months really started to sour his love of rain. Even though he was only outside in the rain for a few moments total, he was tired of it. A queen size bed had lain against one of the walls, but Lucas had pushed it into the corner. Two nightstands that had bordered the bed now were by the window. A TV was against the opposite wall with a sign saying how all movies would be charged to the room. A lone chair sat close to a circular table, which had a slight wobble. The walls were covered in yellow daisy wallpaper which was peeling from the corners. Water stains were also visible at the top of the wallpaper and ceiling. The bathroom was the most appealing part of the room, but was nothing special.

Using his foot, Lucas shut the door. He stepped over by the bed and knelt down, sliding Ada out of his arms for a moment. He decided to leave her in her wet clothes. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her. He pushed her further towards the middle of the bed after pulling back to the top couple sheets. Lucas untied the laces of his deceased wife's hiking boots and then pulled them off of Ada's feet. He placed them near the nightstands.

He went over to the flimsy door, double checking that the door was closed. He twisted the deadbolt, hearing it lock with a click. He tugged on the door a few times confirming that it was locked. Lucas then went back to were Ada was and pulled the blankets over her. Leaning over her slightly, he brushed some of the wet jet black locks from her forehead. Suddenly, a twinge of guilt came over him.

_It's been six years, you know. Therra's gone. This is natural, Lucas._

_No; not yet._

Lucas then went to the bathroom area and worked on taking off the black over-shirt. He winced as he slid his left arm out of the sleeve. The white tube socks were drenched in his blood. Stajan then undid the black belt, slowly removing the temporary bandage. All of the bleeding had stopped which was a blessing. The pain was overwhelming, but livable. He tore a new bandage from the black shirt, tossing the scraps onto the plastic sink.

Turning on the faucet, Lucas was looking for some hot water to rinse out the wound. As tired as he was, he knew that his couldn't wait. After finding out that there was no hot water, either slightly warm or very cold, he dampened one of the white towels that were sitting on the adjacent towel rack. He began to dab at his upper arm, making a conscious effort not to wipe too hard and start it bleeding again. The shot was mostly a flesh wound, but it hurt like hell.

After cleaning quite a bit of the dried crimson off, Lucas wrapped his arm with the longest black fabric strip. He walked back into the main room and moved the small chair and positioned it by the foot of the bed, his back towards the wall. The only door was the one that was now in front of him. He slid the two nightstands in front of it now, preventing silent entry. He sat down into the chair, keeping one of his handguns in his lap. Lucas double checked that the safety was on. Closing his eyes, Lucas Stajan began to pray for wisdom and for both his and Ada's safety. Before he could finish, he fell into a much needed sleep.


	27. Chapter 25

Chapter 26: Washington, DC – August 24th, 2004 at 3:45 am

"Laird to Team Leader, Team Leader copy."

"This is Team Leader, Echo One, over."

Head of Security Gerald Laird sat in a dimly lit room filled with computer monitors and TV screens. The slightly overweight man watched each of them carefully. One was a radar tracking the flight of a S-58 Choctaw helicopter while another showed a satellite feed of its path. Multiple screens showed vitals signs of every soldier that the Organization had sent on the current mission: pulse rates, EKGs, eye movement…the works. Wiping at his forehead with an already damp paper towel, Head of Security Laird knew that a lot was riding on the success of recovering the sample now.

A lot.

All twelve of the soldier's vitals signs were normal, except for the youngest of Echo team. _Probably a rookie_, Laird figured. His heart beat was faster than normal, which didn't surprise him at all. Everyone else seemed completely at ease. Of course, nothing had been told to them about their objectives.

A few other people occupied the observation room with Gerald. A younger woman sat in a chair in front of him, typing away at a wireless keyboard. Her long, dark hair sat on her shoulders, nearly reaching the ID tag that identified her as Sheryl. A couple of men sat at a set of consoles near the main set of monitors, tracking and recording the statistics of each. Deborah, an older woman who had been working for the Organization for what seemed like decades to Laird, sat by the radar station, making sure that the helo's path stayed true.

On the main plasma monitor was the leader of Echo team. Laird had complete faith in the man. Nikolai Konstantine was a third generation Russian American who had served over twenty years in the Army. Echo was the go to team for the Organization, and Nikolai was a big reason why. However, Laird sent a back-up team with them. He knew that he would have to explain this to the Team Leader, but he knew better than to send just one squad.

"Good to see you up bright and early, Nikolai."

"Same to you, sir," Nikolai replied as he shifted in his seat.

"Your mission has two objectives, the primary of which is to retrieve a sealed titanium case from two of our agents. The second objective is to eliminate the agents with the case. One is a male: five foot eight, one hundred and eighty pounds, dark blond hair, and greenish grey eyes. The other is a woman: five foot six, one hundred and thirty pounds, dark brown hair, and hazel eyes. Both of them have considered to have gone Code Yellow, authorizing the use of lethal force and any means necessary to retrieve the case. According the radar, you have about," Laird looked over at Deborah, who held up eight fingers. "…eight minutes." He nodded towards the older woman to his left.

"Affirmative, sir."

Laird saw a look on the face of the Echo leader that he had come to recognize. "Any questions, Team Leader?"

Knowing that Laird had seen the confusion in his face, he asked his questions. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Head of Security Laird nodded. "Granted."

"What's in the case, sir?"  
"That's classified information. Besides, the contents of the case don't have an effect on the mission. Anything else?"

"Is there anything in the case that could cause harm to the unit, sir?"

Gerald knew that his best man was fishing for something to tell his men. "There is nothing to worry about, Nikolai. As long as the case remains closed, the well-being of Echo and X-Ray teams will be fine."

Konstantine nodded, lowering his dark eyes to the floor for a moment. He was mostly satisfied with the response, but he felt that there was something else behind what was going on. "The two agents went Code Yellow, correct sir?" Laird nodded. "What makes you believe that they are where we're being sent, sir?"

"We were able to get a general fix on their location during a short conversation with one of the agents. From that information, some of the team was able to hypothesize where they were."

Nikolai knew that something was definitely wrong now. Laird only used larger words whenever he was nervous. The paper towel in his hand and the sheen of sweat on his forehead gave further evidence.

"Anything else we need to know, sir?"

As Laird took a deep breath in, Nikolai thought _Ah, now here it comes._ "It is believed that there is a third party that is trying to get the case first. They had attempted to retrieve it in New York and failed. It is unclear whether or not they know about Medford Lakes."

"Who were the agents, sir?"

Laird answered sharply and quickly. "That isn't of any concern."

_There's more that he's not saying._ "Affirmative."

"And make sure that Echo 5 doesn't have a heart attack, for goodness sakes."

Nikolai glanced over to the youngest member of Echo Squad whose leg was bouncing a mile a minute. Without smiling or any facial reaction at all, he answered.

"I can't control his body, sir; but I'll do my best."

He shot a look over at Echo 5. Glancing up, he saw his commander's stare on him. His leg, along with the rest of his body, froze completely.

Laird was about to cut off communication when Konstantine stopped him. "We have smoke, sir."

_What?_

As Echo leader spoke, the satellite following the plane advanced ahead to the forest near the cabin. Black clouds of smoke billowed into the morning sky, visible even in the darkness. This worried Laird. _What if we were beaten to it?_

"Hurry over there, Nikolai. Get in and out."

"Consider it done."


	28. Chapter 26

Chapter 27: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 3:56 am

The forest wasn't the only thing that was on fire. Pistov fumed over the fact that he had lost Lucas and Ada. Rarely had people escaped from him. The last time that someone had made the mistake of running from him, it cost the person his life and Pistov his commission in the Spetsnaz.

After uncharacteristically cursing, Pistov turned back towards the cabin. He knew that the grenade was probably fueled by TH3 incendiary and that the fire would keep burning for a while. He also knew, from witnessing it first hand, that the thermate compound could burn right through flesh and bone. And the smell; he remembered the stench. His current priority was to check on the rest of the team. Ada and Lucas would have to wait…

_Until our next meeting_, Pistov threatened to the wind.

He could tell that the fire could possibly burn its way to the cabin, and at least one of the members, Evgeni, was incapacitated a few moments ago. Pistov jogged quickly to the kitchen entrance, its glass door still slid open. He stepped inside form the heated morning air.

The first thing that he noticed was that Sullivan had stopped swearing. Now, he was sitting in one of the corners of the room, his head tilted back. He held a blood soaked sleeve up to his nose. When he noticed Pistov, he spoke, saliva flying from his lips.

"Those bastards are dead. Dead!"

_Same old Sullivan._

"I'm going to put their asses in body bags and piss on them. Damn them to hell!"

"Parker!" Pistov exclaimed. "Calm down. And stop the profanity."

He went over to Koralenko who was just starting to come around. "Don't move too fast, young one. Parker is here; he will help you." He turned back to Parker. "Is the Commander upstairs?"

Sullivan just sneered, which Pistov took to be a yes. Koralenko confirmed his assumption after Pistov glanced over at him. He slid the strap of the AU off his neck and set the weapon down by his fellow Russian before turning towards the starts.

He could hear breathing as he reached the top of the stairs. Glancing into the first room, he saw Ortiz's body slumped on the wooden floor. The start white Venetian blinds were now stained a deep crimson red. Pistov hung his head in silence, giving a moment of honor and respect to his fallen comrade. _We will meet on the other side, Ramon. Of that I am sure._ He crossed himself before moving into the room.

HUNK was sitting on a desk chair near the body, obviously confused by what had just happened. His mask was sitting on his lap, his torso slouching over it. Only on two other occasions had Davis shown this amount of emotion. Both of those times resulted in massive bloodshed. Davis ran a hand through his blondish hair before looking up at Pistov.

"I don't care about the sample, Vi. Just tell me that you got one of them."

Silence filled the room, which answered his question.

Davis assimilated the information before slamming a clenched fist onto his right thigh. He shook his head, somewhat disappointed with himself that he allowed someone to see this side of him.

"Good to know that you are still human, sir."

Part of Davis felt like smiling, but he ended up not doing so.

"Any clue on where they were going?"

This time, Pistov had a little something to offer.

"They escaped into the forest. By the time I got within range, the SEAL detonated a thermate grenade." At the mention of the thermate, Davis shook his head. "He succeeded in cutting off our route to them. I thought best to turn back. I figure that there might be another cabin or shed nearby. They will be on the move, however. It would be much too risky to stay nearby, especially with the unpredictability of the fire."

"Dammit," HUNK whispered. He was getting to the point where he didn't care about the money; vengeance would be enough. Well, almost. "You made the right decision."

Viacheslav nodded. He knelt down beside Ortiz, using the fingers of his right hand to close the dead man's eyes. Though not much damage was visible to Ortiz's face, Pistov knew that the view of the back of his head would be a different matter. "We're taking him with us, yes?"

Davis nodded his head once. "Yeah. It might be possible for someone to identify him, which could lead them to us. We don't want anyone interrupting our business. Get Parker up here. He'll take Ramon to the van. While he's at it, have him help Evgeni, too. You and I are looking for something, anything that will tell us where they're going."

The Observer could smell the scent of blood in the air from the hallway as she recovered from the effects of the flash grenade. She walked into the room as Pistov was leaving and could tell that Lucas and Ada were still on the run by his demeanor. Her eyes caught the source of the odor, noting that she had figured that he would be the first to die. She let out a quiet "hmm," drawing the attention of HUNK. After a short, awkward moment, she spoke.

"You knew there would be casualties; there always are with operations like this. Even though he was the first to die, he did his part." _Like announcing our arrival and completely screwing everything over._

HUNK knew that there was something she wasn't saying, but he didn't feel like arguing the point. The words 'first to die' kept ringing in his mind like a bad radio jingle you can't get out of your head. He nodded at her words, knowing that he would be a fool if he expected everything to go cleanly. _It never does._ "Suppose you wouldn't know where they went, did you?" he joked.

"I'm good, but not that good. But your number two said that they went through the forest. My guess is that there's a road at the end of the path."

"That sounds like it's more than just a guess."

Her PDA vibrated as she was about to respond. Glancing down at the screen, she saw a small map of the Medford Lakes region with their current location marked. Across the forest area was a major road. "Now it is. This is probably how they planned to escape. And one more thing," she began to add. "…it would be best to get your men out of here know."

"Maybe we'll find some inform…"

Jae quickly cut him off, much to his surprise. He was about to argue the point, but she beat him to the punch. "Possibly, if you had time to search. If you want to be found, be my guest and stay. Of course, with a large forest fire back that way," she said as she pointed behind her. "…fire departments from around New Jersey and Pennsylvania are going to be here soon. You have a dead body in a room covered with blood. Your men are equipped with illegal assault weapons. Need I go on?"

Davis nodded not for the need for her to continue, but in understanding.

"I'll contact you when I find something out."

Davis hated running, especially when an assignment wasn't finished. "Too much of an ox in you," his parents told him as a child. But those same stubborn qualities are the same ones that helped him survive time and time again while others have died agonizing deaths.

Pistov and Sullivan entered the room as Davis snapped out of his childhood memories. _Best forgotten, anyway_. "Change of plans, Vi. We're all getting to the van. She already has a lead and time is short enough of it is."

Sullivan bent over and slowly hoisted Ramon Ortiz's remains onto his shoulder. He muttered something about always being the one cleaning up his messes, but quickly stopped when he felt the gaze of Pistov, Davis, and Forscythe on him. Jae's focus shifted from him towards the master bedroom. She hastily moved into the room and towards the window, cocking her head at a slight angle. She slid her sunglasses off, the dark night sky brightening to her alone. She scanned the black horizon before seeing what she thought she had heard: a military class helicopter quickly coming towards the cabin. The others followed, wondering what was going on. Koralenko slid in after the rest of them, carrying Pistov's AU rifle.

"We're out of time," she said as she moved towards the light switch for the room. She flicked it off before adding, "Let's see how you do when you have the upper hand, Davis."

He quickly moved over to the window and peered out, at first only hearing the S-58. As he saw the silhouette, he turned to his men. "Sullivan, Koralenko, get out of here! Make sure that the van is ready to move! Vi, stay here and cover the yard!"

Sullivan and Koralenko started to quickly move out of the room, beginning to make their way to the van that was a distance away. Pistov took his weapon from Evgeni and kicked away the shards of glass that were resting on the floor in front of the window. Using the barrel of the weapon, he knocked out the rest of the glass. The former Russian Spetsnaz agent knelt down, resting part of the gun on the window sill for support. He peered into the infrared scope, watching the helicopter come closer and closer.

"Turn off the rest of the lights."

Davis turned towards the Observer after he heard her command. He smiled a little bit as he thought the tactic through. _I could get to like her_, he thought to himself as he started to make his way through the house, turning off the lights as he went.

The Observer slid off her sunglasses once again, folding the arms towards the lenses and slipping them into the left pocket of the suit jacket she was wearing. She double checked to make sure that the magnum was in its holster. She knew that she wouldn't need to use it. However, it was always better to be sure than not.

Pistov took a glance behind him and saw two dim amber ovals behind him. Then they were gone as he heard the woman behind him turn and leave the room.

_Is she really a woman anymore? Or is she a monster?_

_Hey everyone. I have to apologize for the severe lack of updates...I've been bogged down by college this semester (I had to take 6 courses for a total of 18 credit hours)...Shivers...I appreciate all of the support that you guys have been giving me...So please, keep checking here (the story will continue until I'm finished!)...Until then, keep reading, commenting, and shooting the zombies where it hurts 'em most...Actually, would bullets really "hurt" them? Lol...Until next time!  
_


	29. Chapter 27

Chapter 28: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 4:01 am

Nikolai reached into one of the pouches attached to his uniform and pulled out a pair of binoculars. He lifted them up to his grey eyes. Closing his eyes momentarily, he flipped a switch on the side, instantly lighting up the landscape in shades of green. At first he aimed the lenses towards the cabin, then the surrounding area. Konstantine could tell that the fire was behind the building by the white flickering aura around the house.

He scanned the house, looking for anything that might either give him and his men an advantage or hinder their mission. _Nothing ground level_, he concluded as he angled the binoculars towards the second floor. The broken window quickly caught his attention. He switched the view back to regular light in an attempt to see inside the lit room. There was no one in the room at first, until a woman who was wearing sunglasses quickly entered. She went straight to the window, pulled them off, and looked straight towards the Choctaw. _Shit. _She turned around and moved away from the window. Suddenly, the room went dark.

He continued to watch after changing the binocular's view mode to night vision. A few more men had entered, with one of the looking outside. He seemed to be confused for a moment before looking at the helo. Then, controlled chaos broke out in the room. Two of the other men quickly left the room. The third and final one, an older man, started using a weapon to clear the remnants of what used to be a window from the window frame. Although he shortly thereafter disappeared, Nikolai had a good idea that the man was still there, ready to fire on them.

"Here's the situation, men. We are to retrieve a sealed case that is held by two operatives of the Organization. After we have possession of the case, we are to eliminate the agents. There is nothing inside that should harm us as long as it remains closed and sealed. There is a third party that has already beaten us here. We have orders to use whatever means necessary to prevent them from obtaining the case. I've observed five people in the cabin; one woman and four men. It is possible that the operatives are among them, although unlikely. The lights in that room are now off, so it is possible that they're setting up an ambush for us. In that case, X-Ray will provide cover fire momentarily as the rest of Echo deploys. Any questions?"

No one had any questions for their leader; at least, any questions that they wanted answered.

"And remember, gentleman; we need that case. We're not leaving without it," he added with an eerie calmness to his voice. But he had a question he wanted answered: what was in the case that was so important to Laird?

The men from both Echo and X-Ray squads began to perform their pre-mission routines. One man began to crack each of his finger joints, followed by his neck, making a few of the other men wince mockingly. Another looked over his assault weapon again, making sure that there were no visible problems. One took out a picture of his wife, crossed it, and tucked it away in a pouch on his uniform as he began to pray. Some of the newer recruits began to prepare the ropes for the aerial assault.

"Thirty seconds until we're on top of them, sir," called back the pilot.

"Copy," answered Nikolai.

_What the hell are you getting us into, Laird?_

By the time the helicopter reached the front side of the cabin, Koralenko and Sullivan had reached the forest en route to the van. Sullivan was leading, holding his HK tightly to him. Koralenko ended up carrying Ortiz's body, even after Sullivan was told to. Holding the body on his shoulders with one arm, keeping the other one free, the young Russian tried to move as fast as he could. He was still fighting off some of the effects of his concussion, which made Sullivan's order for him to carry the body all the more infuriating.

Sullivan and Koralenko had a brother-like relationship; not the good kind, though. Since Parker was older, he would always force Evgeni to do things that he was assigned when Davis and Pistov weren't around. "You need the experience," or "stop complaining," was always Sullivan's response. It never pays to be the youngest or newest.

As Evgeni continued to think about these things, he snapped back to reality when a tree branch slammed back into him, nearly knocking him over.

"Open your eyes, damn it!" Sullivan screamed back at him as quietly as he could. "I swear, all you Russians care about are your vodka and women."

"How's that different from you?" the Russian replied, getting his balance back.

"I don't drink vodka, dumb ass. And just keep moving."

"Ten seconds, sir!"

The shout from the pilot echoed inside Nikolai's mind. He was still trying to figure out anything to explain Laird's avoidance of details. He usually told Nikolai plenty of information, including the truly classified. This time, there was something else going on; something that had personal implications.

"Prepare for deployment, Echo!"

Members of Echo squad stood up from their seats and tried to gain their balance, fighting the urge to fall back from the rocking of the S-58. The red lights inside the main area lit up each man's face a crimson hue. For a brief moment, a few men could see a look of confusion or uncertainty on their leader's face. The lights went off. When the red lights came back on, however, the confusion was gone.

After a few more flashes of the red lights, they turned to a yellowish gold. Three more times after that, the cabin was illuminate in a lime green glow.

"Now!"

Before he could finish his command, two members of X-Ray tossed out ropes through the open doors of the plane. As the cords' ends spiraled down to the ground below, the first two men of Echo Squad prepared for the trip down. The wind created by the helicopter's propellers created waves in the branches and leaves of the surrounding trees. Shadows danced around the landscape from the ongoing fire.

A voice spoke into the ears of Echo Leader Konstantine through a radio ear-bud.

"We've been keeping our ears open, listening to local police scanners and radio frequencies. It is confirmed that local law enforcement will be there in ten minutes. Be out of there in seven."

_Of course._

He glanced around the interior and noted that two of his men were already gone, with two more soldiers already prepping for their descent. A smile would've normally formed on his face, but this time was different from the rest. Nikolai Konstantine was never a fan of secrecy, especially when lives were on the line. This time, there were so many. As he looked back towards the open doors, he watched the two soldiers slip into the night.

"Do you hear me, Jim?"

The pilot quickly responded. "Loud and clear, chief."

"Do you have enough room to land down there?"

Jim just snorted through the mike. "I can land anywhere I feel like, chief. You planning on a quick exit?"

"Just preparing; and I'll take that as a yes. Land after all of Echo is on the ground."

"Copy that, chief."

Nikolai slowly moved to the rope before turning around to face the leader of X-Ray. "You're in charge up here." He was answered with a solid nod and 'affirmative.' Nikolai briefly readjusted the placement of his M16-A2 across his chest and tugged on the cuffs of his gloves, his fingers pressing against the tips of the fabric. He glanced over to Echo 5, the final man from Echo to descend. After nodding, both men leaned out of the S-58 and began to lower themselves to the earth below.

_I'm getting too old for this._

Pistov watched the each of the soldier's descents through the scope of his weapon, keeping track of how many came down. He made a note on each man's technique, using that to help decide his first target. With his logic, the better the rappel technique, the more experienced the soldier, and the more dangerous that soldier would be. The first two came down at the same pace; however, nothing special stood out. Both were obviously well trained. The second two came down shortly after the first two. The third one, who Viacheslav nicknamed "stumpy" for his short stature, came down the rope quickest out of the other three. He would also be a harder target to get later on.

_Well, stumpy; you are the prime candidate for first to perish._

When the former Spetsnaz agent watched the world through the scope of a weapon, everything else drifted away. He focused solely on what was in the lens; where the target moved, what he did, how he breathed. This is why Viacheslav had joined the Russian Armed Forces in his younger years; not because of the lies and politics that it had become.

After a few seconds without any more soldiers, he tilted the scope over to the cockpit of the Sikorsky. _Nothing of interest._ He continued scanning the helicopter, looking for additional information. He could see additional men, thanks to the angle of the Sikorsky to the cabin. Two more men began to rappel down, one obviously a rookie.

_Well, well. Sending a rookie into this fight._

He put his focus and attention back onto Stumpy, keeping the crosshairs on the soldier's skull. It was only a matter of time before he would officially announce his presence to them.

_**Author's Notes:**_

_I really feel the need to apologize to everyone for the extreme delay in an update…However, I hope you all feel that the wait was forth it…My summer job is nearly finished, so I plan on trying to get back to this…Besides, we wouldn't want to leave this undone, would we? So thanks again for checking back and, as always, reviews are always welcomed!_

_  
Bobb Shank_


	30. Chapter 28

Chapter 29: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 4:03 am

As Nikolai's feet touched the ground, the second-to-last light in the cabin flicked off. If not for that, the raging inferno in the backyard and the broken window on the second story, everything would have seemed normal. Odd shaped shadows were cast across everything, some in shapes similar to people. The morning was slowly coming, and along with it would be all sorts of law enforcement and questions.

He pulled his hands away from the rope and rested them onto the M-16A2 that was slung around his neck. After taking one last glance at the rope to make sure that he was free, he ordered his men into formation. They quickly formed a hexagon-shape, with one man taking point, one the rear, and two taking each flank. In his years of experience, Nikolai found this to be most useful; an ambush wouldn't take out all members of the group.

"Move in."

Instantaneously, all of the men from Echo advanced slowly towards the cabin. The sounds of the S-58 masked their approach, which slowly began to descend as ordered. There was no sign of anyone of the third party that Laird had mentioned or even of the two agents. Everything was going alright.

At least until the first shot rang out.

Then, any control that Nikolai Konstantine might have had on the situation was lost.

Without any warning, the head belonging to the soldier in front of Nikolai, Echo Three, suddenly whipped backward. Shards of blood covered plastic from the face shield showered the area. Everyone turned to see the body of their comrade fall to the ground. Just as quickly, they all turned back towards the cabin, weapons drawn.

"Go, go, go!" Nikolai ordered.

The men quickly sprinted across the yard towards the darkened cabin. The moist grass squished under their boots, dampening the leather. All of Echo squad felt the heat from the fire, even from where they were. Every set of eyes were shooting around the property, hoping to catch a glimpse of the threat.

None of them saw anything.

One of the members of X-Ray jumped out of the now-landed S-58 to grab the fallen soldier. He was quickly greeted with a shot to the right foot by Pistov. The bullet pierced the tough leather boot, lodging itself into the bone of X-Ray Four's right foot. He stumbled back into the opening of the helicopter and was lifted in the rest of the way by two of the members of his unit.

In the second story room, Pistov shook his head and fired a second warning shot at the ground near the plane. _Anyone_, he thought to himself, _and the next shot will not be in such a non-vital area_.

One of the members of Echo happened to glance up in time to see the muzzle flash of the second shot. The soldier raised his weapon to fire, but brought the muzzle down quickly. _The shot wasn't at us_, _so stay silent,_ he thought. The other soldiers around him saw him aim towards the building, telling them all that they needed to know.

There was still someone upstairs.

As they got to the front entrance, they saw the splintered wood from what used to be the front door scattered across the deck. Echo Five quickly ran into the cabin ahead of the others. At that moment, his teammates realized that it had been too soon for him to see combat. There was nothing that they could do for him.

As Echo Five turned to get orders from Commander Konstantine, he realized that everyone else was still outside and that he was alone. He broke the cardinal rule of his commander's: stay together. He turned around to head back out when he was greeted by a pair of glowing amber eyes. The shock of the Observer's appearance made him drop his M-92 handgun.

Before he had a chance to call for help, the Observer reached out and grabbed his throat with a gloved hand. Her hand was large enough to reach the pressure point underneath both ears while simultaneously choking him. Fear filled his eyes while tears of pain quickly followed. Jae saw the fear in the man's eyes, making her smile cruelly.

"Let's go for a walk. This way."

He acquiesced to her command, letting himself be led through the shadows of the cabin.

Nikolai continued to curse himself about Echo Five's hastiness. In an effort to catch up to him, the rest of Echo squad sped up. However, they watched Echo 5 disappear into the building from a distance. Five seconds later, they entered themselves, finding only his handgun lying in the front hallway.

Leading him through the darkened halls, Jae began to whisper to the man in her grasp. "Are you religious, soldier? I am; well, to a point. I know that one day, I'll be required to account of my sins that I've committed in this world. One day, I'll be before the Throne of God. That day is coming; sooner than I had planned, but nothing ever goes according to plan, does it? So much to do, so little time."

She soon noticed that they were coming into the kitchen, close to where she had figured. As they passed the large table, the Organization's soldier tried to reach for it. The Observer smiled at his futility. He threw out his arm, trying to catch anything to slow her down. Jae tightened her grip on the man's neck, drawing a muffled gasp.

"Try it again and I'll send you to God sooner than I intended. But on that note, it would be wise to make peace with whatever god you believe in."

Before the soldier had any time to consider his attacker's advice, she added a final note to it.

"Because you meet him today."

The soldier was about to struggle when the Observer's grip suddenly became tighter still. The pain began to overwhelm him. He tried to call for help, but only a barely audible whisper came out from his lips.

"They can't help you," she whispered as she pushed him into the small bathroom.

He went head first into the wall by the medicine cabinet, putting a small crack in the dry wall. Air filled his lungs for the first time in what seemed like ages. Clutching at his throat, he watched as the Observer closed the door behind her, nearly eliminating all of the light from the room. Only a small sliver shone from under the door, and even that was only enough to send a dark reflection from the floor.

To the Observer, however, everything had a soft, golden hue. It was somewhat like night vision goggles, or how dogs can see in blacks and grays. She watched the man at her feet with amusement. His eyes were wide with fear, his pupils fully dilated. Faint marks were around his neck where she had grabbed him. He slowly rose to his feet, pleading softly with her to let him go; to tell everyone to just leave.

_How naïve are you?_

After hearing nothing but a soft laugh, his attitude began to change. He realized that no one could save him except himself. Even that was a stretch. But he knew that he had to try. Like a cornered dog, he struck out at the woman. Throwing out his right leg, he slammed his foot into her ribs. To his surprise, she not only didn't budge, but was able to grab hold of his leg.

"Why did you have to go and do a silly thing like that?"

She ran her hand against Echo Five's femur, down past his knee cap, and rested it on the tibia bone. He tried to pull his leg back, but her strength was too much for him. Then, with frightening speed, she slammed her fist down onto his knee, shattering the bone and even forcing the tibia to bend unnaturally forward. A sharp, pain-filled cry echoed through the cabin, somewhat to the surprise of Jae.

"So the voice is back, is it?" she commented, releasing the wounded soldier's leg. The young man slid down to the floor in pain, grabbing at what was left of his right leg. "I'll give you something to really scream about."

Everything seemed to be going from bad to worse. To lose a man right away after deployment was bad enough. But to have another run alone into an occupied building like a frightened child was unacceptable. Those thoughts passed through Konstantine's mind as the rest of Echo entered the cabin. Nothing seemed to be going right. Within seconds, the entranceway was secured. One of the point men came back to Nikolai holding Echo Five's M-92.

_Lovely._

"Orders, sir?" signaled Echo Two.

Nikolai turned around to face his second in command pointed towards the back of the house. Seeing two hallways, he directed Echo Two and Four to take the left, while he and Six would take the right. All of the team members nodded in understanding and prepared to move.

From six people down to four. Konstantine never would have imagined that the mission would fail this badly from the beginning. It was missions like this one that would make a man question his ability to lead. He had no knowledge of the additional casualty outside. He had to go all the way back to the Persian Gulf War to remember a mission as bleak as this one.

After a few steps, another blood curdling scream filled the entire building.

Echo Five stared down at his broken wrists, most of the bones completely shattered. A small piece of fractured bone broke through the skin of his left wrist, completely immobilizing the limb. His body shook with pain as wave after wave of pain flooded his nerves. Any other injury would send his body into shock.

"Maybe I should be merciful," Jae whispered to the battered man. "You're not a threat anymore. You'll never walk again more than likely. Also, you'll never gain use of that wrist again," she continued, pointing towards his left wrist.

She leaned down to look at his eyes. His eyes got wider as she got closer, much to her pleasure. Reaching to her side, she took the Magnum from its holster and held it a few inches away from the man's face. He didn't seem to notice the weapon; he was more focused on the two glowing orbs that hovered in the dense blackness. However, when she placed the barrel of it against his forehead, Echo Five shuddered terribly. The Observer pulled the hammer back, eliciting a shrill scream. Jae pulled the trigger.

The thunderous shot was heard throughout both floors of the Medford Lakes cabin. She placed the gun back into its holster before examining its destruction. Barely anything remained of Echo Five's head, and the dry wall was now stained with a deep crimson. Jae looked down at herself, seeing some of his blood on her pants and jacket.

"Do you realize how hard it is to get blood stains out of wool?" she asked the corpse.


	31. Chapter 29

Chapter 30: Medford Lakes, NJ – August 24th, 2004 at 4:06 am

Each of the surviving members of Echo knew what the silence after the loud shot meant; that they lost a second member of the team. The team was formed over a year ago and everyone had survived up until this night. Not even after five minutes, one-third of Echo had been killed off. Everyone in Echo knew that any night could be their last. It began to seem apparent to them that it could be everyone's night.

Konstantine and Echo Six slowly made their way through the darkened cabin. The right hall of the cabin seemed to lead into a den. Echo Six took point, slowly navigating around a small loveseat. The cabin seemed too large to be just a vacation home, he observed. Looking around, the walls were bare, lacking a decorative touch. He concluded that the room wasn't one of the main rooms used, but still had occasional use due to a few scuff marks on the floor. Besides the loveseat, there were a few bookcases and a small coffee table. A stone chimney rested in the one corner of the room.

Echo Six side-stepped the coffee table and quickly glanced into a partially-opened doorway. After deciding it was clear, he and Nikolai began to move past it into a small hall again. A few doors led to various areas of the house. However, neither of them got a chance to clear them.

From the darkened doorway, HUNK slowly crept out, holding his TMP loosely in front of him. This part of his job is what kept him interested; the silent stalking. He felt like a hunter stalking his prey. Would they see him and have a chance to fight? Or would they just die like most other men that he's encountered? He already had an idea for the second older man; the one closest to him. How the first one didn't seem to see him was beyond him. _But that doesn't matter, does it_?

After getting within arms reach, he quickly threw his left arm around the man's neck, making sure that the Adam's apple was between his forearm and bicep. Nikolai was completely caught by surprise, gasping as he felt pressure on his throat. Echo Six turned around and saw his leader caught in one of the intruder's grasp. He raised his weapon to fire, but HUNK raised his TMP faster.

HUNK shook his head and, with his TMP, gestured for the soldier to put down his weapons. Nikolai nodded and Echo Six set down his handgun, not taking his eyes off of Davis. Davis began walking backwards into the den, pulling Nikolai with him.

Elsewhere, Echoes Two and Four were closing in on the back of the cabin. Walking through the kitchen, they could see the raging fire outside through the open doorway. Continuing towards the back, they reached the bathroom door. Nothing could be heard from the other side. Echo Two reached for the brass door knob and twisted. He turned to his partner.

"Locked," he whispered.

Echo Four nodded as he positioned himself in front of the door. Before he could knock it down, the Observer did it for him.

The Observer was focused somewhat on trying to wipe off some of the blood from her suit, taking pride in her attire. _Just because you're doing evil doesn't mean you have to look homeless_, she would say jokingly. Of course, that was very infrequently. After swiping off some of the crimson fluid from her pants and lower portion of the suit coat, she reached inside of the Armani jacket and pulled out a snow-white handkerchief. She began to clean off her hands when she heard the door knob.

She quickly turned her head towards the door and watched as whoever was on the other side try to open it, to no avail however. Jae delicately folded the handkerchief a few times before sliding it back into the pocket of the suit. She tapped her hand against the holster of her Magnum, making sure that the gun was back in its place. Her fingers traced the barrel of the handgun.

She counted to three after the door knob stopped turning. Then, she slammed her fist into the door, breaking the second door of the morning. The hinges broke from the wall, sending most of the door flying right into the face of Four. The force of it rammed Four backward into the wall behind him, even cracking some of the wooden beams. His battered and broken body rested against the wall, barely breathing.

Jae stood up from her crouched stance, which closely resembled Wesker's stance after his thrust punch. Her eyes shifted focus over to Echo Two. _Ah, someone who isn't going to piss his pants_, she thought. _I should change that._

She lifted her right foot before quickly bringing it down on the broken door. Sounds of splintering wood, crushing bone and who knows what else filled the hallway before spreading through the rest of the house. Blood shot across the room, staining the floor and walls its crimson color. The force of the stomp actually caused a few drops of blood to hit the combat boots of Echo Two. Never in his life had he seen such an act of brutality.

_That's better_.

The Observer pulled her foot out from the wood, her shoe soaked in blood. Grazing her foot against the deceased soldier's pants, she wiped off some of it. Echo Two raised his assault rifle towards her.

"You don't want to do that," Jae said, ", unless you're sure you want to die quickly."

"Freeze!" Echo Two called out.

Jae just laughed. "You think you're in a position to give orders?"

She took a step towards Nikolai's second in command.

"I said freeze, damn it!"

And another step. Then another.

Echo Two fired two rounds into the Observer's chest, hoping at the very least to stop her from coming towards him. But the bullets didn't have any effect.

"Do you want another shot?"

The second-in-command was completely shocked.

The Observer began to stalk towards him, barely injured by what should have been two definite kill shots. He could see the bullet holes in the suit around where the heart should have been.

"What!?"

He raised his assault rifle and began to open fire, not releasing the trigger. It seems as he would take a step back, the Observer took two. Nothing was stopping her advance.

She could've reached him quicker, but she found a thrill in the slow approach; knowing that her opponent knew that they were about to die.

_Enough play_.

She quickly swung at Echo Two's right arm, knocking it and the rifle to the right. Stray bullets sprayed down the hall and into the bathroom. He tried to fight back, lashing out with his left arm. His punch connected, forcing her jaw out of place. Unaffected by the pain, however, she wrapped an arm around his and pulled. Echo Two's shoulder popped painfully from its socket. She released the limb before grabbing his head on both sides and pulled it quickly down. It made contact with her rising knee, shattering the face plate of the helmet and the surrounding facial structure. His body went limp and dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Chapter 31: Washington, DC – August 24th, 2004 at 4:08 am

"Echo Four is deceased; no longer reading a pulse!" Sheryl called out.

"What the bloody hell is going on down there!!!" screamed Laird.

He wasn't surprised by the first death; not even that it happened moments after the team's arrival. Hell, the second one didn't even shock him. His thought then was that it was a shame that there wasn't a poll on how long Echo Five would last. Laird never understood why Konstantine had so much confidence in him. But after the third, he began to panic.

"X-Ray One, what are you doing down there?! Just sitting on your thumbs or something? Get in there!" He screamed into the microphone. After a few moments of static and crackling, a voice came back.

"Negative, sir; X-Ray Four has been wounded by a sniper on the second floor of the building. No one can get a clear shot."

Gerald Laird, usually a calm man, took hold of his headset and threw it across the room, nearly hitting Deborah over near the radar screen. He dabbed at his forehead, his sleeve drenched with sweat. _We need that case…we need that case…we need that case…_

"Can there be anything wrong with the equipment?"

"Sir?" asked Sheryl.

"Can the shitty equipment be malfunctioning!? Is there something wrong with your damn hearing!" he spat at her.

Sheryl cowered slightly in her seat before answering. "I don't think so, sir. Judging by the heat signatures and infrared, all of the soldiers that the computer says is deceased aren't moving."

"Well, isn't that just peachy!"

He began to pace all around the room, very close to suffering a mental breakdown. If he left now, he might be able to hide from Bergeron. _But what's the point? He'll find you somehow._ Nothing in the world would be able to calm him now; everything looked like it was going to end…

_With who knows what getting pumped into my __bloodstream._

Sheryl continued to stare at the monitors, watching the nine remaining EKG's and vital stats. Most of X-Ray seemed to be fine; all except for the one who had a bullet shot through his foot. Something caught her ocean-blue eyes: Echo Two's EKG suddenly began to increase. That was odd, because even after Echo Four's death, his heart rate increased only slightly. Now it was nearly double. After pressing a few keys on her keyboard, a somewhat blurry image from a webcam attached to Echo Two's assault rifle.

"Sir! We have live feed from Echo Two!"

That news made Laird spin around quickly. He leaned towards the monitor and watched as shot after shot poured into what appeared to be a woman. He was about to ask everyone else about what he saw, but didn't have to: Deborah spoke up from across the room.

"Is he hitting her?"

Laird's eyes went wide as he realized that the shots weren't missing; they were right on target. Yet, it seemed that the bullets weren't even slowing her down. Everyone in the room nearly jumped as the woman made a sudden movement towards Echo Two, as if she was lunging at them. The rifle went sideways suddenly and dropped to the floor.

Soon enough, Echo Two head came back into view; well, what was left of it. What Gerald saw made him fight the urge to vomit. Deborah ran towards the staff restroom, holding her hand to her mouth. That's when Laird felt his cell phone vibrate against his hip. Fearing the worst, he flipped it open and raised it to his ear.

"Mr. Bergeron wants a report," spoke the voice.

Laird's eyes widened even more at the thought.

Wesker leaned back against the leather seat of his "office," watching the many screens in front of him. One, however, kept his attention: the one focused on the cabin. With a click of a button, the satellite imagery switched to thermal imaging. When the Sikorsky flew into view, it was an array of color. He was able to count fourteen men in all, but he wasn't worried. He had tried to track Lucas and Ada, but the thermate grenade's flash on the screen had ruined that idea.

_That's what playback is for_, Wesker rationalized.

He took delight in watching the Organization's futile attempt of an assault. However, according to his recollection, things that are doomed to fail have a nasty habit of turning around. _Unlikely_. However, STARS' survival of the Spencer Mansion Incident was unlikely; actually, so improbable that not even the most hopeful person would say it the least bit possible. Wesker's lip curled slightly at the thought as his right hand ran along an arm of his dark sunglasses. It was STARS that caused him to be in his current position.

He glanced over towards his desk and took delight in one of the handguns displayed: a Magnum Colt Python revolver. _He had come close_, Wesker remembered. A few shots had been fired, but in the end it was useless. _One down; three to go:_ Wesker's never-ending quest for redemption and revenge.

Of course, Wesker hadn't Jae Forscythe in his specific employ at the time; she was still a researcher. She changed everything, making him doubly powerful. He was able to find her quickly on the screen in front of him: her heat signature was nearly ten-fifteen degrees lower than anyone else's. He carefully watched her single-handedly take down three of the Organization's soldiers. Her brutality and coldness fascinated him; even to the point of considering her not a subordinate, but an equal.

He tapped a button on the chair's arm panel.

"Jae."

Staying silent in the dark corridor, she pulled out her PDA and stepped back into the bloody bathroom, reducing the light pollution and glow of the plasma screen. Holding it up to face level, she spoke.

"Yes?"

"Time to go."

Without questioning for a moment, she nodded at the screen. She then pocketed the PDA before making her way towards the front door of the cabin, never one to take the quiet way out.

Jae turned the corner of the hallway, mentally recalling everything that was important: where the BMW was, how many more men there were, who else was in the house, etc. Her boots created soft thumps against the hardwood floor. Although the cabin was still dark, her unique eyes lit everything in a soft amber glow. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until she peered down the next corridor. She could see Davis' standoff with two of the soldiers.

_Perfect_, she thought to herself before realizing that he had their ticket out. _The less bloody one, anyway_. For a moment, she was disappointed. Without breaking stride, she moved towards the group, particularly, the soldier not in his grasp. She could see how badly he wanted to reach for his weapon, even without seeing his eyes.

"Reach for it," she called out from the shadows.

All eyes moved to the Observer; her glowing amber eyes and all. Completely consumed by fear because of her eyes, the blood on her suit and her fearless attitude, Echo Six reached for his 9mm.

Nikolai screamed for his subordinate to not reach for the weapon, but it was already too late. The Observer smiled. He had done exactly what she was hoping for. She quickly aimed her magnum and fired, the round penetrating through his right eye.

Echo Six's hand didn't even reach the grip of his gun.

HUNK, to her surprise, didn't try to finish of the lone surviving soldier; presumably, Echo One. On the other hand, why hadn't he tried to kill the other soldier?

"Have a sudden case of thantophobia or just trying to decide on a day for the tea party you're hosting?" she asked acridly.

Nikolai struggled for a moment before conceding defeat. With each passing second, he wondered why he was still alive, his body not unceremoniously dropped to the ground like the hundreds of people who have died by Davis' hands.

Davis chose not to respond to her which was a surprise to the both of them.

Deciding not to waste anymore time, Jae spoke again. "We need to go, now."

Davis tapped the ear piece in his right ear. "We're going, Vi. Wrap it up."

"Affirmative," was the only reply that came over the static silence.

Moments later, Pistov entered the den, holding his AU to his chest. Turning to Davis and Forscythe, Pistov asked the question that he, Nikolai, and Davis had. "How are we going out?"

"Through the front door," Jae answered as she started to move through the halls of the cabin again.

"I must admit; she's made of steel, yes?" Viacheslav whispered to Davis.

Davis nodded. "The drugs they used must've given her a set of brass ones."

Soon, the two mercenaries and Observer were outside, the charred-wood smelling air blowing into their faces. The sky was still dark, but the sun wasn't what they were racing against. Soon, law enforcement, firefighters and members of countless other public safety organizations would be at the property. And by the slight tension in Wesker's voice, Jae knew that it would be soon.

Right in front of the three was the Sikorsky, its propellers creating even more wind. Jae held her magnum out in front of her, aiming towards the pilot. Pistov had his AU targeted towards the door the helicopter. HUNK continued to keep his grip tight around the neck of Nikolai. One of the soldiers swung his legs out of the chopper. Pistov shot a round quickly into the side of the chopper.

"If anyone so much sets a foot onto the ground, we'll kill him first," she shouted, tilting her head towards Konstantine. "Then, we'll massacre all of you."

The Organization's soldiers got her message. Jae could see that by the look in all of X-Ray's eyes that they wanted to murder her and the mercs, to mutilate their bodies. The look in their eyes excited her. As she passed Echo Three, who Pistov shot nearly immediately after landing, she shot a smile towards the rest of the soldiers. Pistov saw her look and realized that she was truly sadistic. She'd been with Wesker too long.

Every pair of eyes belonging to an employee of the Organization watched as their leader's captors disappeared with him into the shadows of the trees. After about twenty feet, Jae turned to the mercenaries.

"Drop him and leave him."

As the Observer turned her back to them, she heard a loud crack followed by the sound of ruffling leaves. She began her sprint to the BMW that she had parked by the road, silently calculating how long it would take her to get there. Then, she calculated how long it would take for the first response unit to get to the cabin.

She quickened her pace, not wanting to leave any chance of a surprise.

There were already too many in one night.


	32. Chapter 30

Chapter 31: Washington, DC – August 24th, 2004 at 4:08 am

"Echo Four is deceased; no longer reading a pulse!" Sheryl called out.

"What the bloody hell is going on down there!!" screamed Laird.

He wasn't surprised by the first death; not even that it happened moments after the team's arrival. Hell, the second one didn't even shock him. His thought then was that it was a shame that there wasn't a poll on how long Echo Five would last. Laird never understood why Konstantine had so much confidence in him. But after the third, he began to panic.

"X-Ray One, what are you doing down there?! Just sitting on your thumbs or something? Get in there!" He screamed into the microphone. After a few moments of static and crackling, a voice came back.

"Negative, sir; X-Ray Four has been wounded by a sniper on the second floor of the building. No one can get a clear shot."

Gerald Laird, usually a calm man, took hold of his headset and threw it across the room, nearly hitting Deborah over near the radar screen. He dabbed at his forehead, his sleeve drenched with sweat. _We need that case…we need that case…we need that case…_

"Can there be anything wrong with the equipment?"

"Sir?" asked Sheryl.

"Can the shitty equipment be malfunctioning!? Is there something wrong with your damn hearing!" he spat at her.

Sheryl cowered slightly in her seat before answering. "I don't think so, sir. Judging by the heat signatures and infrared, all of the soldiers that the computer says is deceased aren't moving."

"Well, isn't that just peachy!"

He began to pace all around the room, very close to suffering a mental breakdown. If he left now, he might be able to hide from Bergeron. _But what's the point? He'll find you somehow._ Nothing in the world would be able to calm him now; everything looked like it was going to end…

_With who knows what getting pumped into my bloodstream. _

Sheryl continued to stare at the monitors, watching the nine remaining EKG's and vital stats. Most of X-Ray seemed to be fine; all except for the one who had a bullet shot through his foot. Something caught her ocean-blue eyes: Echo Two's EKG suddenly began to increase. That was odd, because even after Echo Four's death, his heart rate increased only slightly. Now it was nearly double. After pressing a few keys on her keyboard, a somewhat blurry image from a webcam attached to Echo Two's assault rifle.

"Sir! We have live feed from Echo Two!"

That news made Laird spin around quickly. He leaned towards the monitor and watched as shot after shot poured into what appeared to be a woman. He was about to ask everyone else about what he saw, but didn't have to: Deborah spoke up from across the room.

"Is he hitting her?"

Laird's eyes went wide as he realized that the shots weren't missing; they were right on target. Yet, it seemed that the bullets weren't even slowing her down. Everyone in the room nearly jumped as the woman made a sudden movement towards Echo Two, as if she was lunging at them. The rifle went sideways suddenly and dropped to the floor.

Soon enough, Echo Two head came back into view; well, what was left of it. What Gerald saw made him fight the urge to vomit. Deborah ran towards the staff restroom, holding 

her hand to her mouth. That's when Laird felt his cell phone vibrate against his hip. Fearing the worst, he flipped it open and raised it to his ear.

"Mr. Bergeron wants a report," spoke the voice.

Laird's eyes widened even more at the thought.

Wesker leaned back against the leather seat of his "office," watching the many screens in front of him. One, however, kept his attention: the one focused on the cabin. With a click of a button, the satellite imagery switched to thermal imaging. When the Sikorsky flew into view, it was an array of color. He was able to count fourteen men in all, but he wasn't worried. He had tried to track Lucas and Ada, but the thermate grenade's flash on the screen had ruined that idea.

_That's what playback is for_, Wesker rationalized.

He took delight in watching the Organization's futile attempt of an assault. However, according to his recollection, things that are doomed to fail have a nasty habit of turning around. _Unlikely_. However, STARS' survival of the Spencer Mansion Incident was unlikely; actually, so improbable that not even the most hopeful person would say it the least bit possible. Wesker's lip curled slightly at the thought as his right hand ran along an arm of his dark sunglasses. It was STARS that caused him to be in his current position.

He glanced over towards his desk and took delight in one of the handguns displayed: a Magnum Colt Python revolver. _He had come close_, Wesker remembered. A few shots had been fired, but in the end it was useless. _One down; three to go:_ Wesker's never-ending quest for redemption and revenge.

Of course, Wesker hadn't Jae Forscythe in his specific employ at the time; she was still a researcher. She changed everything, making him doubly powerful. He was able to find her 

quickly on the screen in front of him: her heat signature was nearly ten-fifteen degrees lower than anyone else's. He carefully watched her single-handedly take down three of the Organization's soldiers. Her brutality and coldness fascinated him; even to the point of considering her not a subordinate, but an equal.

He tapped a button on the chair's arm panel.

"Jae."

Staying silent in the dark corridor, she pulled out her PDA and stepped back into the bloody bathroom, reducing the light pollution and glow of the plasma screen. Holding it up to face level, she spoke.

"Yes?"

"Time to go."

Without questioning for a moment, she nodded at the screen. She then pocketed the PDA before making her way towards the front door of the cabin, never one to take the quiet way out.

Jae turned the corner of the hallway, mentally recalling everything that was important: where the BMW was, how many more men there were, who else was in the house, etc. Her boots created soft thumps against the hardwood floor. Although the cabin was still dark, her unique eyes lit everything in a soft amber glow. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until she peered down the next corridor. She could see Davis' standoff with two of the soldiers.

_Perfect_, she thought to herself before realizing that he had their ticket out. _The less bloody one, anyway_. For a moment, she was disappointed. Without breaking stride, she moved towards the group, particularly, the soldier not in his grasp. She could see how badly he wanted to reach for his weapon, even without seeing his eyes.

"Reach for it," she called out from the shadows.

All eyes moved to the Observer; her glowing amber eyes and all. Completely consumed by fear because of her eyes, the blood on her suit and her fearless attitude, Echo Six reached for his 9mm.

Nikolai screamed for his subordinate to not reach for the weapon, but it was already too late. The Observer smiled. He had done exactly what she was hoping for. She quickly aimed her magnum and fired, the round penetrating through his right eye.

Echo Six's hand didn't even reach the grip of his gun.

HUNK, to her surprise, didn't try to finish of the lone surviving soldier; presumably, Echo One. On the other hand, why hadn't he tried to kill the other soldier?

"Have a sudden case of thantophobia or just trying to decide on a day for the tea party you're hosting?" she asked acridly.

Nikolai struggled for a moment before conceding defeat. With each passing second, he wondered why he was still alive, his body not unceremoniously dropped to the ground like the hundreds of people who have died by Davis' hands.

Davis chose not to respond to her which was a surprise to the both of them.

Deciding not to waste anymore time, Jae spoke again. "We need to go, now."

Davis tapped the ear piece in his right ear. "We're going, Vi. Wrap it up."

"Affirmative," was the only reply that came over the static silence.

Moments later, Pistov entered the den, holding his AU to his chest. Turning to Davis and Forscythe, Pistov asked the question that he, Nikolai, and Davis had. "How are we going out?"

"Through the front door," Jae answered as she started to move through the halls of the cabin again.

"I must admit; she's made of steel, yes?" Viacheslav whispered to Davis.

Davis nodded. "The drugs they used must've given her a set of brass ones."

Soon, the two mercenaries and Observer were outside, the charred-wood smelling air blowing into their faces. The sky was still dark, but the sun wasn't what they were racing against. Soon, law enforcement, firefighters and members of countless other public safety organizations would be at the property. And by the slight tension in Wesker's voice, Jae knew that it would be soon.

Right in front of the three was the Sikorsky, its propellers creating even more wind. Jae held her magnum out in front of her, aiming towards the pilot. Pistov had his AU targeted towards the door the helicopter. HUNK continued to keep his grip tight around the neck of Nikolai. One of the soldiers swung his legs out of the chopper. Pistov shot a round quickly into the side of the chopper.

"If anyone so much sets a foot onto the ground, we'll kill him first," she shouted, tilting her head towards Konstantine. "Then, we'll massacre all of you."

The Organization's soldiers got her message. Jae could see that by the look in all of X-Ray's eyes that they wanted to murder her and the mercs, to mutilate their bodies. The look in their eyes excited her. As she passed Echo Three, who Pistov shot nearly immediately after landing, she shot a smile towards the rest of the soldiers. Pistov saw her look and realized that she was truly sadistic. She'd been with Wesker too long.

Every pair of eyes belonging to an employee of the Organization watched as their leader's captors disappeared with him into the shadows of the trees. After about twenty feet, Jae turned to the mercenaries.

"Drop him and leave him."

As the Observer turned her back to them, she heard a loud crack followed by the sound of ruffling leaves. She began her sprint to the BMW that she had parked by the road, silently calculating how long it would take her to get there. Then, she calculated how long it would take for the first response unit to get to the cabin.

She quickened her pace, not wanting to leave any chance of a surprise.

There were already too many in one night.


	33. Chapter 31

Chapter 32: Location Unknown – August 24th, 2004 at 8:00 am

Jonathan Bergeron wasn't in the best of moods to begin with; anyone with a job that seemed like it was 25 hours of work every day would be the same way. But with how the past twelve-plus hours had been going, anyone that would cross him would be lucky to live another day. He had the power to make that happen.

And get away with it; it was in his job description.

According to the oak clock on the wall and the buzzing of his cell phone, it was around 8:00 am. _Time for another damn meeting._ _How many do these researchers need? Do they really feel the need to showcase their pompousness to validate their existence? _

The slightly-past middle-age Director of Operations for the Organization pushed his black, sleek leather chair back from his desk while standing up. The phone on his desk started to ring. He ignored it, grabbing his suit coat from a rack in the corner and left his office, thrusting his arm through one of the sleeves.

"Already going, Nel," he growled.

His secretary nodded, knowing that he was stressed. He was nicer to her than most.

The Operations floor of the Organization's main branch had the appearance closer to that of a law firm rather than a major pharmaceutical and biological weapons research building. Of course, anyone who had seen the restricted areas of the building without authorization had a nasty habit of just disappearing to the world.

That was one of his jobs.

And he was mighty good at it.

Taking another right, he found himself in front of an elevator. Reaching into the left breast pocket of his suit, he pulled out an id card, decorated with tiny O's and syringes. He 

cringed at its childish design. Of course, he would've preferred nothing on the card except for a black strip for the card readers.

He swiped his card through the reader, causing a small panel to open in the wall below the reader. Bergeron cracked his wrist while angling his hand down onto the electronic pad. _Who the hell were these made for? Trolls and midgets?!_ Although only average height, he had problems getting his palm to rest on all of the key areas of the reader. After seconds that seemed minutes, the elevator doors opened.

_Wouldn't want to be late for anything, would I?_

He barely stepped into the steel elevator when the doors started closing in on him. He threw the sliding doors a scowl, as if they closed so quickly just to spite him. Bergeron stepped into the corner of the now-descending box, resting his hands on the railings attached to the sides. The elevator music, piano versions of popular movie themes, was already driving him crazy. After only fifteen seconds of "My Heart Will Go On," the increasingly-impatient director wanted the elevator to plunge, ending the painful sound in his ears.

After another minute-or-so that seemed an eternity, the elevator lurched to a halt. The doors opened wide, leading to a stark-white corridor. At the end of the hall was another keycard reader; this pad required a key code rather than finger prints. After punching in his ex-wife's birthday and cursing his decision to use that number of all things, he pushed open the unlocked door.

The overly-clean feeling from the hallway carried into the next room; however, there was good reason. Protected behind several transparent walls of glass, plastic, and who knows what else, were the laboratories of some of the most gifted biologists, geneticists, and chemists in the United States and the world. This is where man breathed new life into some of the world's worst 

creations. A report had just passed his desk about a new weaponized strain of salmonella that would actually be fueled by many current antibiotics rather than be destroyed by them. Anthrax, Yersinia Pestis, and other biological terrors were altered and enhanced here.

Including the T-virus.

The very same virus that had been foolishly mishandled by the Umbrella, Incorporated. Their "mishap" or so they claimed led to the large scale infection of the neighboring town of Raccoon City, nearly killing off of its citizens. Of course, Bergeron knew that there was more to it than that. He had contracted someone to get him a sample of both of the viruses that Umbrella was experimenting on.

Except he hadn't made it out alive, which disappointed Bergeron. _William Birkin would've been an excellent addition to the staff at the Organization, _Bergeron thought to himself.

Taking a right, he slowly made his way towards a large meeting room that was a little ways into the subbasement. His eyes kept glancing over towards the transparent walls, spying on the activities of the researchers. He was never great with chemistry, but there were people who were; nearly all of them were under the Organization's employ. The DO finally found himself within eye shot of the meeting room after wrapping around a few more corners. Nonchalantly, he walked to his seat and quickly slid into it, even though he was the last one.

The large ovular table had seats for about eight people; three on each of the longer sides and one at each end. To Bergeron's recollection, the three across from him were all researchers and scientists that were involved in all types of research and experimentation. Beside him was the Director of Public Relations and also the seat for the head of security. The end seats were left empty.

As the clock struck eight, the scientist directly across from Bergeron spoke. "It is now eight o'clock. Where is head of security Laird?"

"He won't be with us, today," Bergeron replied without blinking. The other five people at the table looked at him inquizzingly. "Retirement."

"We have heard rumors about problems with security, Mr. Bergeron," Allen Murphy, one of the head researchers, directed towards the Director of Operations. "Do these 'rumors' have any connection with Mr. Laird's retirement? Or are they just rumors?"

"You have nothing to worry about, if that's your question." Bergeron answered sharply.

The three head researchers shared glances of concern with each other, not trying to hide their worry. Steve Jenkins, the eldest of the three, looked the least concerned. However, that wasn't saying much. Roland Arsene looked directly at Bergeron.

"Our question is whether there's a problem with security. If we were worried about ourselves, we would've asked about ourselves. Is it something that has a direct impact on the Slepnir Project?"

Arsene was the one that Bergeron disliked the most. If he had his say, Arsene would've been infected with some deadly virus by now. _It could still happen_.

"Yes."

The stress level in the room skyrocketed.

"What do you mean, 'yes?' How?" Jenkins asked. He obviously was rattled.

"At approximately 4:30 yesterday afternoon, the agent we sent to Spain retrieved the master las plagas sample. She arrived in New York at 10:00 pm. Around 2:00 am, a second agent met with her to escort her here. However, shortly thereafter, a group of six-to-eight people tried to kill the agents and steal the sample. Our agents escaped and survived. The former head 

of security was able to make contact with our second agent; he told him to take the sample and cut the first agent lose." He took a quick breath.

"However, the second agent decided that he didn't like his orders. So, to make the story short, here's the score: two rogue agents on the run with the sample, another party trying to get to it before we do, and six men killed this morning."

Murphy jumped in. "Six men _killed_? How in the world did that happen?"

"They were killed in a firefight with the other group."

"And who is this other group?" Jenkins questioned.

Bergeron side-stepped the question. "How are you progressing with Slepnir?"

Sensing that he had already gotten more information than usually, Murphy decided to let that question go. "Dr. Arsene, if you would?"

Arsene nodded as he ran his hands through his finger-length hair. He opened the laptop in front of him, punched in a password, and clicked on a few things. Instantaneously, a projection screen began to descend from the ceiling, behind the empty end seat nearest the door. A few moments later, a digital movie began to play on the screen.

"When the T-Virus infects a subject's body, it enters the blood stream and focuses in on the red cells. Making its way into the cell's nucleus, the T-Virus mutates the RNA into something completely different. During this process, the subject slowly becomes stronger and more resistant to pain stimulus. If the T-Virus is combined with the DNA of other species, different, more radical changes occur. This can be either physical or psychological."

"However, nearly each time we have injected a sample of the T-Virus into a human subject, they turn into nothing more than a mindless zombie; a shambling corpse. They do 

experience the heightened physical attributes; however, their consciousness is destroyed, left with only an intense hunger. Also, the subjects body decays, as if the host is dead."

Arsene punched a few keys onto the keyboard, bringing up a few windows of what appeared to be scanned documents; records and research notes of Umbrella scientists. "Even one of Umbrella's most successful experiments, the Nemesis, was more luck than anything. A French research group actually began the research into the Nemesis: a biological weapon with immense strength and the ability to be 'programmed.' It had no thoughts of its' own. It would do whatever it was programmed to do; the perfect soldier. Even the Tyrant, which Umbrella recorded five successes of producing, was incredibly rare. Humans with the genes to be able to support the Tyrant virus were one out of ten million; hardly cost effective."

"But, according to the research notes that we obtained from Luis Sera, we believe that we could augment the plagas, in some form or another, to the T-Virus. We could succeed where Umbrella failed: preventing the brain cells of those infected intact. Also, with the controllability of the plagas, we could control the infected. Of course, this is just speculation until we can obtain the master plagas sample."

Bergeron nodded. "Good work."

"We also have concluded research on a few of our other projects," Jenkins revealed.

Arsene started flipping through several slides; dossiers and pictures of the projects.

_Where in the hell do these get these ideas?_

However, he couldn't help but smile at them. Widely.


End file.
